Macassar is a small town in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, close to

Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street ...

and

Somerset West Somerset West ( af, Somerset-Wes) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality as a suburb of the Helderberg region (formerly called Hottent ...

, with an approximate population of 33,225. Administratively it is a suburb of the

City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town ( af, Stad Kaapstad; xh, IsiXeko saseKapa) is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026. The remo ...

. Macassar’s history is closely tied to the Strand, whose inhabitants first settled this area. The ''kramat'' (shrine) of

Sheikh Yusuf Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep (1626–23 May 1699), more commonly known as Sheikh Yusuf or Sheik Joseph, was an Indonesian Muslim of noble descent. He was also known as Muhammad Yusuf al-Maqassari. In 1693 he was exiled to the Cape of Good Hope, South Af ...

(Tuanta Salamaka) of the

Sultanate of Gowa The Sultanate of Gowa (sometimes written as ''Goa''; not to be confused with Goa in India) was one of the great kingdoms in the history of Indonesia and the most successful kingdom in the South Sulawesi region. People of this kingdom come fr ...

, in present-day

Makassar Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Med ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, is a holy place to South Africa's

Muslim community ' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ' ...

. The Sheikh, who was exiled by the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

in 1694, came to the Strand area and made it his final resting place; although his followers, who were mainly fishermen, found the sea of Macassar rather uninviting and moved further along the coast to Strand’s Mosterds Bay. After Yusuf died, his followers named the area after his birthplace, spelling it with "c" in place of "k". The

Macassar Dunes Conservation Area Macassar Dunes Conservation Area is a coastal nature reserve in Macassar, within the City of Cape Town, South Africa. Biodiversity This conservation area conserves the unique local “Cape Flats Dune Strandveld” vegetation with its dense ever ...

forms part of the vital coastal dune system, one of the biodiversity hotspots of the Western Cape. These dunes have been impacted by conflicting activities such as cattle grazing and 4X4 vehicle use. Macassar is a predominantly

Coloured Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...

community close to the Macassar Dunes, whose workers historically are in the fishing and boatmaking industry.

History

Education

* Macassar Primary * Macassar Secondary * Marvin Park Primary * Oklahomastreet Primary * False Bay Primary * Zandvliet High School

List of Suburbs

* Bell Glen * Brandwacht * Chris Hani Park * Deaconsville * Deep Freeze * Macassar Village * Marvin Park * New Macassar * New Scheme * Riverside * Ruben Road * Smartie Town

Other Locations

* Boys Town Macassar * Macassar Beach Pavilion (derelict)''Macassar Beach Pavilion'' (Atlas Obscura). Accessed 29 August 2019
/ref> * Macassar CDC Clinic * Macassar Fire Department * Macassar Municipal Offices * Macassar New Hall * Macassar New Sports Ground * Macassar Old Sports Ground * Macassar Police Station * Macassar Public Library * Macassar Waste Water Treatment Works * Rheinmettal Denel Munition Factory *

Kramat A ''mazār'' ( ar, مزار), or ''darīh'' () in the Maghreb, is a mausoleum or shrine in some places of the world, typically that of a saint or notable religious leader. Medieval Arabic texts may also use the words ''mašhad'' or ''maqām'' ...

References

{{Cape Town, communities Suburbs of Cape Town

History

Education

List of Suburbs

Other Locations

See also

References