Solitaire (Namibia)

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Solitaire entrance sign
A bird's eye
view of solitaire looking south

Solitaire (historically Areb ) has been a small private settlement on the farm of the same name in central Namibia on the edge of the Namib-Naukluft Park since 1848 . As of May 2013, Solitaire has 92 residents.

The oldest buildings are the shop, built in 1849, and the church, built in 1851, with its own organ since 1879 .

Origin of name

The origin of the name is controversial, but probably refers to the isolation and loneliness ( English solitude ) for the area. The popular belief that Solitaire was named because it was only one house is probably wrong because although the settlement originally consisted of very few buildings, including the chapel (built in 1851) and the shop, there were always more than one .

Infrastructure

Solitaire has an airfield with two unpaved runways (18/36 and 10/28, both 1000 meters long; 23 ° 54 ′ 2 ″  S , 16 ° 0 ′ 17 ″  E )

Solitaire is at the intersection of the main roads C14 ( Walvis Bay - Bethanien ) and C24 ( Rehoboth - Sossusvlei ), both routes through the Namib-Naukluft Park that are important for tourism. It houses the only petrol station and the only grocery store between the coastal town of Walvis Bay and the capital Windhoek as well as between Walvis Bay and the dunes in Sossusvlei and is therefore an important resting and supply point in this sparsely populated desert area.

Right next to the shop and gas station is the Solitaire Lodge (until 2016 Solitaire Country Lodge ) and a campsite, as well as a café and restaurant. There has been a bakery since the mid-1990s that not only produces cakes, but also breads, pies and rolls.

Inside view of the store

Trivia

  • The Dutch author Ton van der Lee wrote a novel of the same name about his stay in Solitaire in 2001; the café / restaurant owes its name to him.
  • The founder and operator of the bakery in Solitaire ("Moose McGregor Desert Bakery"), Percy "Moose" McGregor, made Solitaire famous with its apple pie; all major tourist guides, including the Lonely Planet , refer to the Apple Pie in Solitaire, many with the addition of "best apple pie in Africa". Its breads are considered to be some of the most delicious in Namibia. McGregor died unexpectedly on January 18, 2014.

Web links

Commons : Solitaire  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Solitaire Country Lodge. The Cardboard Box travel shop, accessed July 1, 2014 .
  2. ↑ 19.1.2014 News in the evening. ( Memento from January 20, 2014 in the web archive archive.today ) In: Hitradio Namibia. January 19, 2014, accessed January 20, 2014.

Coordinates: 23 ° 53 ′  S , 16 ° 0 ′  E