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This blog is about another free walk I did with two new guys who just joined the volunteering program in Cape Town. I was kind of glad they came not just because they were cool guys but because everyone else in the hostel had been on the walking tour. I’m a big fan of these tours – the idea is that the guides try hard to interest and charm the tour as it’s purely tips that they’re relying on.
So we hopped in an Uber and off we went. By the way, South Africa is the first country that I have ever tried Uber and it is defo one of the best things ever. We got to Green Market Square where the tour leaves twice a day at 2:00 pm 4:20 pm. We got together with so many tourists like us to go on the Bo Kaap tour. We set off walking pass Bree Street, Loop Street and Chiapinni Street en route to Bo Kaap to go see the colorful houses, smell the spices of the East, hear the Auwal Masjid (the first and oldest mosque in South Africa) calling for prayer, The old Tailors House, Biesmiellah Cape Malay Restaurant and The Atlas Spice Trading Centre.
I heard the reason for the colorful houses was the owners’ celebration of freedom as they were released from slavery but another saying is a doctor who painted his house red to make it known that it was a hospital, and other tradesmen followed suit, picking a color that represented their business. Bo Kaap is still 90% Muslim, with other beliefs making up the other 10%. This is because the houses stay within the same families for decades.
The mosque was built all the way back in 1784 and is built on land donated by the freed slave, Coridon van Ceylon. I went inside to pray and got to see the handwritten Qur’ans, penned by Tuan Guru- the Auwal Masjid’s first Imam, freed political prisoner.
We went through the busy Wale Street, to the Bo Kaap museum (the oldest house in the area still in its original form) and opposite was the historic Atlas Trading Company where I browsed the shelves full of spices many of which are used to flavors traditional Cape Malay dishes like samosas and curries.
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