Episode 5: Bo-Kaap

The first thing you will notice when you’re walking into Bo-Kaap are the bright painted colours on all the houses.                                                                                    
The history of this suburb is fascinating to hear. Many residents are descendants of enslaves from Malaysia, Indonesia and various African countries, which were imported during the 16th and 17th century by the Dutch. They were called “Cape Malays”, even though not everyone were of Malaysian descent. When slavery came to an end they started a new community at Bo-Kaap, which even today, is referred to as the Malay Quarter.                                                                                                          
Many local women converted to Islam to marry Muslim men. The reason why the houses are brightly coloured on either side of the street is because of the celebration of the districts Muslim identity.        
Do you want to know more about the history of the area? Then Bo-Kaap Museum is the best place to discover it. The museum is the oldest house in the area and is still in original form.                                  
One thing you just simple have to do is to have a traditional Cape Malay meal at one of the restaurants. The recipes date back centuries and are traditional South African dishes. Take a look around before your going to the next stop. 


Photo 1: by MauritsV / Maurits Vermeulen uit Cape Town, South Africa - Flickr is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Photo 2: by wordcat57 / Tom Pratt - Flickr is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Photo 3: by n1s / Eric Lin uit San Francisco, USA - Flickr is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0