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South Africa Travel + Tourism Guide: Cape Town's Bo-Kaap

Bo-Kaap

Bo-Kaap is one of Cape Town's oldest and most atmospheric areas. Situated on Signal Hill not far from the Houses of Parliament, Bo-Kaap was the original Malay Quarter of the city. The brightly-painted 19th century houses are the residences of the descendants of "Cape Malays" - slaves brought over from Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia by the Dutch in the 16th and 17th centuries. Around 10,000 people, mostly Muslims, live in the area.

Bo-Kaap includes South Africa's first mosque - the Auwal Mosque at 39 Dorp Street - and the Bo-Kaap Museum (Tel: 021 481 3939) at 71 Wale Street. The Bo-Kaap Museum displays the the lifestyle and possessions of a nineteenth-century Muslim family. The house was once the residence of the Turkish scholar Abu Bakr Effendi who came to South Africa at the request of the British in 1862 to work among the Muslim community.

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Bo-Kaap is best seen as part of a tour rather than wandered alone.

Access

Walk along Wale Street west towards Signal Hill from the Houses of Parliament across Buitengragt.

Hotels in Cape Town South Africa - Agoda - hotels in all locations

Bloemfontein Cape Town Durban Johannesburg Nelspruit Polokwane Port Elizabeth Pretoria Rustenburg

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