South Africa Guide
Cape Town
The Bo-Kaap
Address: On the slopes of Signal Hill
The Bo-Kaap is one of Cape Town's oldest and most fascinating residential areas. Its streets are characterized by brightly coloured nineteenth-century Dutch and Georgian terraces, which conceal a network of alleyways that are the arteries of its Muslim community. The Bo-Kaap harbours its own strong identity, made all the more unique by the destruction of District Six, with which it had much in common. A particular dialect of Afrikaans is spoken here, although it is steadily being eroded by English.
Bo-Kaap residents are descended from dissidents and slaves imported by the Dutch in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They became known collectively as "Cape Malays", a term you'll still hear, even though it's a complete misnomer: most originated from Africa, India, Madagascar and Sri Lanka, with fewer than one percent actually from Malaysia.
The easiest way to get to the Bo-Kaap is by foot along Wale Street, which trails up from the south end of Adderley Street and across Buitengragt, to become the main drag of the Bo-Kaap. There's a deceptively quaint feel to the area: apart from Wale Street, this is not really a place to explore alone. It's better to join one of several tours that take in the museum and walk you around the district. The best (and cheapest, at R120 including the museum entrance fee) is run by Bo-Kaap Guided Tours ( 
021 422 1554 or 082 423 6932, 
shireen.narkedien@gmail.com). It lasts two hours and is operated by residents of the area, whose knowledge goes beyond the standard tour-guide script.