Bo-Kaap

Bo-Kaap is a historic hillside neighbourhood on the slopes of Signal Hill, a short walk uphill from the city centre of Cape Town in South Africa's Western Cape. Known for its brightly painted houses lining steep cobbled streets, the district was settled from the eighteenth century by Cape Malay people, many of them descended from enslaved and exiled people brought from Indonesia, Malaysia and elsewhere by the Dutch East India Company. The best-known streets are Wale Street and Chiappini Street, where rows of flat-roofed Cape Georgian and Cape Dutch houses in pink, yellow, turquoise and green make one of the city's most photographed scenes. The Auwal Mosque on Dorp Street, founded in 1794, is considered the oldest mosque in South Africa, and the call to prayer is a regular part of the neighbourhood soundtrack. The Bo-Kaap Museum on Wale Street occupies one of the oldest houses in the area and explains Cape Malay history, culture and the daily life of a Muslim family in the nineteenth century. Cape Malay cooking is a draw too, with local restaurants and tour operators serving curries, bobotie, samoosas and koeksisters, and cooking classes in family homes. A typical visit takes one to two hours on foot, and morning light gives the best colours for photographs, especially on Chiappini Street. Crowds and tour groups peak in the late morning and midday, and visitors should be respectful by not photographing residents without asking, not blocking doorways and dressing modestly near the mosques. The streets are open at all times, but walking alone after dark is not advised. Some residents have objected to disruptive filming and drone use, so photographers should keep to public streets and show courtesy. Guided walking tours led by residents add context on the history of the area and its struggle against forced removals and gentrification.