Bo-Kaap and Wale Street

Welcome to the Bo-Kaap, ‘above the Cape’ in Afrikaans. For generations it was called the Malay Quarter, although its residents have roots in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar and other parts of Africa. It is the oldest surviving residential neighbourhood in Cape Town.

1Houses to rent

In 1760 a man named Jan de Waal bought land on the lower slopes of Signal Hill, between Dorp Street and Wale Street. From 1763 he built small rental cottages, the huurhuisjes. The house at 71 Wale Street, now home to the Bo-Kaap Museum, is one of the first. After slavery was abolished in 1834, many freed people settled in these streets, alongside artisans, fishermen and tailors.

2The colours

The most often repeated explanation says that while the houses were rented they had to be white, and that when residents bought them they painted them in colours to celebrate their freedom. It is a lovely story, but old photographs suggest the custom of bright colours really spread in the late 20th century.

Today many families repaint before Eid, the festival that marks the end of Ramadan.

Under apartheid, the Group Areas Act reserved the neighbourhood for the ‘Malay’ population and evicted other residents. Today the challenge is different: rising prices and tourism threaten to push out long-standing families. Take your photos respectfully and don't climb onto the steps of the houses.

3What to look for

• Number 71 Wale Street, one of Jan de Waal's houses.
• The steps and railings in front of each door, the ‘stoep’.
• The cobbles of the streets climbing towards Signal Hill.