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    Awaiting Your Return From Shore  | 
    
     
    The great natural harbor 
    of Port Natal, on whose shores the city of Durban now stands, was presumed 
    by the early Portuguese navigators to be a lagoon at the mouth of a large 
    river which flowed down from the interior. They called the harbor Rio de 
    Natal (Christmas River) as it was discovered by Vasco da Gama on Christmas 
    Day in 1497. The name Durban was acquired in 1843 when Port Natal was 
    renamed for Sir Benjamin D’Urban, the Cape governor who had ordered the 
    British annexation of Natal.  
  Durban developed to become a municipality in 1854 and a city in 1935. 
    Today it is one of the principal cargo ports on the African continent, a 
    center of industry and a major holiday resort. With a population of almost 
    one million people, Durban is a bustling, subtropical city with a warm, 
    sometimes hot and sultry climate and an abundance of trees and luxuriant 
    gardens. It is considered to be the Asian capital of South Africa with a 
    massive Indian population. The most dominant landmark of Oriental Durban is 
    the handsome Grey Street Mosque, the largest in the southern hemisphere.  
  The downtown Asian culture is predominantly Moslem, while Hindu Durban 
    lies to the north of the city center. Here in the Phoenix Park Settlement 
    Mahatma Gandhi set up his retreat center in 1903. Despite Durban’s Asian 
    flavor and predominantly white beach culture, the city belongs to the Zulu. 
    Behind the Indian Bazaar on Victoria Street sprawls a huge African market 
    where anything from groceries and animal parts for witchcraft, to medicinal 
    herbs, electronics, clothes, beads and baskets is for sale.  
  Durban’s 21st-century economy is a result of the immense amount of cargo 
    passing through its huge port, as well as the thoUSAnds of Transvaal holiday 
    makers who, since the 1930s, have turned the city’s beachfront into a 
    popular playground.   | 
    
     
    
    Awaiting Your Return 
    From Shore  | 
  
  
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    Complimentary 
    Spirits Await  | 
    
     
    
    Return to Your 
    Suite and Sail Away to The Next Adventure  | 
    
     
    
    Entertainment 
    and Dancing Await You  |