Macassar | |
|---|---|
 Sheikh Yusuf's tomb in Macassar | |
  Macassar  Macassar | |
| Coordinates:34°04′S18°46′E / 34.067°S 18.767°E /-34.067; 18.767 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Western Cape |
| Municipality | City of Cape Town |
| Area | |
• Total | 28.85 km2 (11.14 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 33,225 |
| • Density | 1,152/km2 (2,983/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 8.9% |
| • Coloured | 88.3% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.5% |
| • White | 1.2% |
| • Other | 1.1% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Afrikaans | 85.2% |
| • English | 7.5% |
| • Xhosa | 5.0% |
| • Other | 2.4% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 7130 |
| PO box | 7134 |
Macassar is a small town inSouth Africa, close toStrand andSomerset West, with an approximate population of 33,225. Administratively it is underCity of Cape Town[2] Eastern Suburbs zone.
Macassar’s history is closely tied to the Strand, whose inhabitants first settled this area. Thekramat (shrine) ofSheikh Yusuf (Tuanta Salamaka) of theSultanate of Gowa, in present-dayMakassar inIndonesia, is a holy place to South Africa'sMuslim community. The Sheikh, who was exiled by theDutch 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".
TheMacassar Dunes Conservation Area 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 and4X4 vehicle use.
Macassar is a predominantlyColoured community close to the Macassar Dunes, whose workers historically are in the fishing and boatmaking industry.
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.m.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(June 2022) |
