Afrikaander Tapes and other Rotterdam, Netherlands Local Custom Tips

An off the beaten path interactive audio tour for people that understand Dutch. The website lets you download a map and about 200 small MP3 files that explain everything about the downtown neighbourhood Afrikaanderwijk. Known for it's multicultural population, recent renovations, the interaction between people from Turkey, Morocco, Cape Verde.... discover hidden mosques for the Turks or the Pakistani, a Hindu temple. Discover city life and the complexities of such a neighbourhood, what the city government offers, and much more. The audio tour is hosted by Farid Boukakar, a Moroccan guy who grew up in the neighbourhood.

Have a look here for an interactive map.

You can also walk the route with a handheld PDA with GPS. For that you need to contact Rotterdam Roots, ticket information below, on working days between 9-17.30 hrs.
The starting point is the library at Afrikaanderwijk, address: Bibliotheek Afrikaanderwijk, Paul Krugerstraat 61, Rotterdam (see photo 4). Daily, except Sundays, Tuesdays and 25/26 December.

I walked the free version with an MP3 player, which took about 3 hours and had great fun.
Enjoy the following tips.

Leave a Comment

Phone: 010 – 411 37 27
Website: www.detapes.nl
Other Contact: ikwilmeerweten@rotterdamroots.nl

The walk started for us at the Brede Hilledijk where one finds a children's playground (photo 1) and a recycling shop (photos 2 and 3), a wonderful browsing place of household cast offs which you can buy for next to nothing. An odd business on the corner of Cronjéstraat: a church organ builder (photos 4 and 5).

Farid tells us that there is a sign there on the Brede Hilledijk, which forbids gatherings. However, the sign is never there. It is constantly stolen by the Morroccan youngster that... you've guessed... gather here all the time!

Leave a Comment

Phone: Tel: 010 411 37 27
Website: www.detapes.nl
Other Contact: ikwilmeerweten@rotterdamroots.nl

The building in photo 1 is a school for school drop outs (yes, a contrast in terms!). It is genially called Back 2 Your Future. The Bothastraat (photos 2-5) used to be known for the street gang the Botha Brothers. There used to be street gangs for Morrocans, Turks and Surinamese. They didn't really fight but you had to look over your shoulder... These days the youngster organise football games or meet each other in nightlife places. Much better, no?
The poster in photo 4 pleads for cheaper house rents. Photo 5 is a photo of Bothastraat 157. A Dutch couple used to live there. They had barricaded their house with extra locks and cameras. Obviously they could not understand their foreign street neighbours and vice versa. In the end the couple moved to another part of the country.

Leave a Comment

Phone: 010 411 37 27
Website: www.detapes.nl
Other Contact: ikwilmeerweten@rotterdamroots.nl

Cafe Bloemfontein is the next stop. A local pub with a kind landlady. We talked about her experience with the new smoking rule. I asked her if there were any downsides. Not really, she said. The smoking smells had gone, but she renovated every 3 years anyway. The only thing she didn't like is when the bar was full and one guest would go out to smoke outside. Then the rest would follow and the bar would be empty.
We were watching the police and noted that someone was being arrested. One of the guests remarked: hey, is that so-and so? Why is he arrested? It can't be about anything!
If you look up (photo 3), you see the busts of famous Afrikaners. Dutch men that made it great in South Africa, like Botha, Paul Kruger, Cronjé, Joubert. If we should be proud of that, remains a discussion. In any case, their names are now street names in this Afrikaanderwijk.
Opposite the pub is the modern library where you can start the audiotour if you reserved a PDA with GPS. We were making do with an MP3 player which was fine (and free!).

Leave a Comment

Phone: 010 411 37 27
Website: www.detapes.nl
Other Contact: ikwilmeerweten@rotterdamroots.nl

This is the Paul Krugerstraat, where we saw some street cleaners in their orange coats (photo 1). They were just passing the coffeeshop (photo 2). The swimming pool is in photo 3. There are swimming children images in blue on the outside. The local Morroccans and Turks have a bit different swimming attitude. Some of the boys don't shower naked. Not all of the girls like swimming either.
Not sure why they kept the old house in photo 4. It stands in the middle of a field, sown with wild flowers and sunflowers. It looks very nice! They put picnic tables there as well (photo 5). A good place to sit down and listen to some more files on the audiotour.

Leave a Comment

Phone: 010 411 37 27
Website: www.detapes.nl
Other Contact: ikwilmeerweten@rotterdamroots.nl

This was a Morrocan snackbar for years. When it was taken over from the Dutch owners, they kept the name 'Jan & Jan'. Now it is owned by a Turkish guy and he renamed it 'Kent'. The coffee is quite cheap (1,25 euro). Now what is a Kapsalon?! It means Hairdresser's Parlour. But it isn't it's edible. Shoarma and fries with salad and sauce all in one. A famous Rotterdam snack (meal, more like!) that became popular throughout The Netherlands.

Leave a Comment

Phone: Tel: 010 411 37 27
Website: www.detapes.nl
Other Contact: ikwilmeerweten@rotterdamroots.nl

Like many streets in the neighbourhood, one side is old and the other side is modern. On the corner (no photo) is a Morrocan club. The club board consisted of four men, all family. But they belonged to different tribe than the members. So there was trouble when the subsidy money came. How was it going to be spent? They didn't trust each other.

Photo 1 and 2 show the boxing school that is run by a Dutch couple since 1982. The gold medalist Bep van Klaveren (featherweight, Olympics 1928) used to frequent it too. Just to look, I suppose. He must've been an old man by then.

The other side of the street still have old houses (photos 3-5). With those typical curtains and very clean windows. I saw lots of window cleaning during our walk here!

Leave a Comment

Phone: 010 411 37 27
Website: www.detapes.nl
Other Contact: ikwilmeerweten@rotterdamroots.nl

Photo 1 shows that Christiaan de Wetstraat still kept the old houses. I hope they stay. So much of the old neighbourhood is renovated. Which is a good thing. People deserve to live in good houses. But the atmosphere is different. On one of the modern flats (photo 4) I made photo 2. Seven out of ten of the names are foreign. That's quite exemplary of the people that live in the neighbourhood 'Afrikaanderwijk'. Photo 3 shows the entrance sign to a large childrens playground, right in the heart of the neighbourhood, the Afrikaanderplein (plein=square).

Leave a Comment

Phone: 010 411 37 27
Website: www.detapes.nl
Other Contact: ikwilmeerweten@rotterdamroots.nl

Halfway Riebeeckstraat there is a 'Vogelklas' (bird school). Initially set up for school children but they come less and less. It's sort of a bird hospice. If a sick bird is found, it can be left here in one of the boxes (photo 3) and then it is taken care of. The foreign children don't really care much for birds. Sometimes they catapult one out of a tree and then bring it to the hospice!
Photo 4 is a tiny botanical garden. Photo 2 is the entrance. It was closed but we could see it well through the wiring.

Leave a Comment

Phone: 010 411 37 27
Website: www.detapes.nl
Other Contact: ikwilmeerweten@rotterdamroots.nl

Photos 1 and 3 show the playground on Martinus Steynstraat. Just across from the primary school Da Costa (photos 2 and 5). Miss Agnes has worked there for 25 years and experienced the 'colouring' of the neighbourhood. In the beginning of her career it was unusual to have a Turkish child in her class. Nowadays, she thinks 'help! I have a Dutch child in my class'.
This is a problem in many downtown areas of Dutch cities. We're even talking about black and white schools and the government is trying to change that by making schools more mixed.
Photo 4 shows a popular pasttime for children of many countries. Hinkelen this is called in Dutch.

Continue the walk here

Leave a Comment

Phone: 010 411 37 27
Website: www.detapes.nl
Other Contact: ikwilmeerweten@rotterdamroots.nl