We moved back to South Africa last year, after living and loving in Istanbul! It was a sudden decision and I felt a bit lost leaving a whole new life behind and starting again. I created a good life in Istanbul. I was involved in many things I loved like organizing Winetastings and Food experiences, getting involved in running the Photography Club of Istanbul and obviously many hours of exploring Istanbul.
As an expat you make friends with people from all over the word. It is not strange to have people over at your house from every continent. My lounge can be filled with friends from Denmark, Belgium, France, Italy, UK, Columbia, Japan, Phillipines, Korea, USA, Australia, Pakistan, India and Poland. Meeting these people and sharing our experiences made me a better person and I'm lucky enough to bring that back with me to South Africa.
Istanbul will always have a special place in my heart, a place that has many corners I haven't discovered and a place that is filled with amazing, loving, generous people. Funny enough, what I missed the most now, is the beautiful, sweet red tomatoes!
When we arrived back in my home country, South Africa, I had to feed the exploring bit of myself and we did a little trip through the back roads of this beautiful country and one of the places we stopped at was Nieu Bethesda. While driving there, I told hubby jokingly that it is a place with no streetlight, not thinking that you still get places like that, but as it turned out, that's Nieu Bethesda! No streetlights, just dirt roads…and to just play along with our impression of the place, a young man arrived at the local general dealer on his horse.
You can't go to Nieu Bethesda without visiting the extraordinary Owl House. Helen Martin grew up in Nieu Bethesda and when she came back to her hometown, she made this her home of concrete and ground glass sculptures.
Helen Martin was a very talented artist with a special insight into life and fantasy. To me it was like walking into somebodies private dreams and with the wonder and excitement I felt, I also felt a deep sadness for this talented, tragic women. Watch the biography about her life at the entrance of her house. It gives you more insight into this magical world she created.
Sculptures in the garden of Helen Martin's home
And then there are the people of this little oasis. The locals smile openly and are ready to have a chat and tell their story. This scenic valley is full of artists and people that came to find solitude. But also people that grew up here and are part of the land and the history of this little village.
Notice on the Nieu Bethesda Tourism website. Definitely a place to rest and find yourself again.
Don't forget
Nieu Bethesda has no petrol, bank or credit card facilities. Fill up your tank and your wallet before you arrive!
A wonderful way to see the village and chat to the locals is by Donkey cart. Jakob van Staden has lived in Nieu-Bethesda all his life and has extensive knowledge of the area. He offers twenty minute guided donkey cart tours during which Jacob will share his knowledge of the history of the town.
We stayed at the Outsiders B&B in the main street. Perfect spot to sit on the stoep (veranda), coffee or wine in hand and watch the village life go by. This is the place where you can see the land meeting the sky, where night skies are unpolluted by streetlights and you have a clear view of the Milky Way.
Outsiders B&B
Martin Street
Nieu Bethesda
Contact number: +27 (0)49 841 1642
E-mail Address: [email protected]
“I would like to think my work says: life is beautiful. That everything is possible and if you can see it in your minds eye, it can be done!” A local artist, Frans Boekkooi www.fransboekkooi.co.za
Nieu Bethesda has no Bank or ATM, no streetlights, no petrol station, no frills – just a sky filled with stars and an abundance of old-world characters. I felt blessed to wake up in this pristine little corner of our beautiful country.
Interesting facts about Nieu Bethesda
- Nieu Bethesda was first formed in 1878.
- Nature loving Princess Irene Emma Elisabeth of the Netherlands, sister of the Dutch monarch, Queen Beatrix bought a farm outside of Nieu Bethesda in 1999 and turned it into a sanctuary.
- Athol Fugard, playwright, novelist, actor and director and best known for his anti-apartheid plays found inspiration in Nieu Bethesda. Several of his plays were written here including “The Road to Mecca” inspired by Helen Martin's Owl house.
- There is a 1 000 residents that make their home in Nieu Bethesda. Sixty or so live in the central area and about 900 in the township extension, Pienaarsig.
- Palaeontologist James Kitching, who was considered one of the world’s best fossil finders, grew up in Nieu Bethesda. The Kitching Fossil Exploration Centre in Nieu Bethesda is named after him. This center displays fossils found in Nieu Bethesda and the surrounding Sneeuberge.
- Once a year, early in Dec, an evening Christmas service is held at the big church with the conventional gas used to light the lamps.
