Durban South Africa Cruise Port Guide

The great natural harbor by the early Portuguese navigators to be a lagoon at the mouth of a large river which flowed down from the interior. They called the harbor Rio de Natal (Christmas River) as it was discovered by Vasco da Gama on Christmas Day in 1497. The name Durban was acquired in 1843 when Port Natal was renamed for Sir Benjamin D'Urban, the Cape governor who had ordered the British annexation of Natal.

Durban developed to become a municipality in 1854 and a city in 1935.

Today it is one of the principal cargo ports on the African continent, a center of industry and a major holiday resort. With a population of almost one million people, Durban is a bustling, subtropical city with a warm, sometimes hot and sultry climate and an abundance of trees and luxuriant gardens. It is considered to be the Asian capital of South Africa with a massive Indian population. The most dominant landmark of Oriental Durban is the handsome Grey Street Mosque, the largest in the southern hemisphere.

The downtown Asian culture is predominantly Moslem, while Hindu Durban lies to the north of the city center. Here in the Phoenix Park Settlement Mahatma Gandhi set up his retreat center in 1903. Despite Durban's Asian flavor and predominantly white beach culture, the city belongs to the Zulu.

Behind the Indian Bazaar on Victoria Street sprawls a huge African market where anything from groceries and animal parts for witchcraft, to medicinal herbs, electronics, clothes, beads and baskets is for sale.

Durban's 21st-century economy is a result of the immense amount of cargo passing through its huge port, as well as the thoUSAnds of Transvaal holiday makers who, since the 1930s, have turned the city's beachfront into a popular playground.