Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa

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Cape Town at dusk

It's a beautiful evening here in Cape Town, South Africa. From this vantage point we have a striking view of Table Mountain, with its 'tablecloth,' or cloud cover that typically shrouds the local landmark. Cape Town is a popular tourist destination noted for its beaches, natural beauty, architecture, and multicultural diversity—and in that diversity, it's a showcase for the South Africa that Archbishop Desmond Tutu calls the 'rainbow nation.'

We're here today in honor of the Day of Reconciliation, a public holiday observed annually on December 16 that's meant to celebrate unity. President Nelson Mandela and the government's Truth and Reconciliation Commission created the holiday in 1995 to heal wounds left by decades of apartheid, South Africa's system of institutionalized racial segregation and oppression. South Africans observe the day with parades and other festivities.