Zoom shot of Robben Island and Table Bay from Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa

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Robben Island, oval-shaped and generally flat, has an area of square kilometres (being km long by km wide) and a high point 24 m above sea level. Because of its isolation, 11 km from the harbour at Cape Town, it was used as a leper colony from 1836-1931, and, before that, as a prison for people from various Dutch colonies, including Indonesia. In the Second World War it was fortified with big guns, as part of the defences of Cape Town. Under apartheid, it became a maximum security prison in 1959. The island became a museum in 1997, being made a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1999. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island 1964-1982. Former political prisoners now act as tour guides. The breakwaters of the Murray Bay Harbour may be seen on the right.

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Size: 5227px × 3499px
Location: Robben Island, Table Bay, Cape Town, Western Cape, Republic of South Africa
Photo credit: © robert harrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: africa, background, bay, blue, calm, cape, centre, coastline, flat, glistening, history, island, mist, mountains, ocean, oval, robben, south, steel, table, tourism, town, view, western