Cape Town: Palimpsest City

Abstract

Cape Town is a deceptive city. Most people assume that the city is nestled below Table Mountain, as the postcard iconography of the city would suggest, but in actual fact the majority of the city's 3,5 million inhabitants live out their lives in the shadow of the mountain, behind its back. This topography proves incredibly confusing for visitors who always find themselves at odd, almost indistinguishable angles with the mountain inducing frustration at the slippery geography of the city.