Strolling through picture-postcard streets of Bo-Kaap, near Cape Town’s city centre, is like going through a child’s colouring book South Africa is a place that you need to visit again and again. Each city has its own character, and every experience is completely different from the rest. In Cape Town, wildlife, beaches and scenic mountains collide with a turbulent history and various cultures to form the infamous melting pot. While exploring the city, I stumbled across Bo-Kaap. The district lies near Cape Town’s city centre. Walk up Wale Street towards Signal Hill and you hit Bo-Kaap.
Strolling through the narrow cobblestoned streets, I felt as if I was walking through a child’s colouring book. The quaint row houses were painted in vibrant hues—bright orange, lime green, sunshine yellow and turquoise blue. Someone had taken the expression ‘paint the town red’ very literally! My camera shutter snapped as often as I blinked, as I tried to capture the riot of colours. Children chased each other outside a purple house while a dog lay in the shade of a blue door. Down the road, an old lady in a green dress hung clothes out to dry on an orange porch.
Spread across the slopes of Signal hill, Bo-Kaap is a multicultural area previously known as the Malay quarter. The residents are descendants of slaves from Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and various African countries, who were brought to the Cape of Good Hope by the Dutch during the 16th and 17th centuries. They made their homes in this quarter, building terraced homes in the Cape-Dutch style. Although Bo-Kaap has been home to people of various origins and religions, the area is primarily associated with the Muslims of the city.
If you want to poke around a typical 18th-century home, Bo-Kaap’s fascinating history is on display at the Bo-Kaap museum. The museum, built in the 1760s, is the oldest house in the area, still in its original form. It showcases local Islamic culture and heritage after the abolition of slavery in South Africa.
Another thing you simply have to try is a traditional Cape Malay meal at one of the restaurants. The recipes date back centuries, and are a combination of fruit, spices, vegetables and meat, infused with spices. This is served in the traditional way: sitting on the floor and eating with your hands.
Typical Malay fare includes potato bhajee , samosas , melktert and koeksisters . Each year on January 2, the Bo-Kaap has a big street party in the centre of town, called the “Coon Carnival”. It was introduced by the Muslim slaves who celebrated their only off-day in the year. These days men, women and children strut from the Grand Parade to the Green Point stadium, singing and dancing, wearing shiny suits and white hats.
Chatting with an old lady, I learned that the residents repaint their homes every year during Ramadan. They discuss their choice of colour with their neighbours, to make sure that do not clash with one another. The flamboyant use of colour by this hybrid community embodies the diversity and uniqueness of its people.
The Bo-Kaap township in South Africa is truly a reflection of the ‘Rainbow Nation’. The fresh colours of the houses reflect the spirit and vibrancy of Cape Town’s urban fabric. You cannot help but feel cheerful and inspired when walking through the picture-postcard streets, like a child that has just discovered candy land.
