Durban
Durban is a vibrant cosmopolitian city in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. It is also known in Zulu as Thekwini. It has a population of about 4 million people with diverse cultures including a large Indian community.
Durban is primarily a 'holiday city'/beach resort, but at the same time is South Africa's busiest container port and has a substantial industrial sector. The port is one of the world's largest natural deep water ports.
Durban International Airport provides air transportation for the city. There are plans to move the location of the airport to La Mercy, a site north of the metro area not too far from Gateway, one of the largest shopping centres in the Southern Hemisphere.
The long continuous stretch of hotels that line the city's beachfront is known as Durban's Golden Mile.
Durban was the site of the controversial 2001 World Conference against Racism.
History
In 1497, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama anchored at present day Durban and named it Rio De Natal (Christmas River), later changed to Port Natal.
In 1823, British settlers established a permanent settlement. In 1835, Port Natal was renamed Durban in honor of then Cape Colony Governor, Mohandas Gandhi, India's famous political and symbolic figure (who fought for his country's independence from Britain) worked as a lawyer in Durban and stayed in the country for 20 years.
