Long Street and the Palm Tree Mosque

Long Street is the liveliest street in the city centre: by day, record shops, second-hand bookshops and cafés; by night, bars and music. Notice the wrought-iron balconies overhanging the pavement. Most date from the late 19th century, when the Victorian city filled up with cast iron shipped out from Britain.

1The house of Jan van Bougies

Now find number 185. Among the Victorian facades appears a green house, plainer and older, with a palm tree in front. It is the least altered building on the whole of Long Street. It was built around 1788 as a home and, in 1807, it was bought by two free men who had once been slaves: Jan van Bougies and Frans van Bengalen.

Both belonged to the congregation of the Auwal Mosque, the first at the Cape, and left it after a dispute over who should be the next imam. Here they set up the city's second mosque, and the upper storey was probably added at that time. Jan van Bougies became sole owner in 1811 and, when he died in 1846, aged 112 according to the records of the time, he stipulated in writing that the house should remain a mosque.

The name comes from the two palm trees that grew in the front garden. One was blown down by the wind and another was planted in 1965.

Look at the door and the low windows: they were not designed that way. Over the years the street level rose and the house gradually sank below the pavement.

If you come back to Long Street at night, go in a group and stick to the busiest stretches.

2What to look for

• The palm tree that gives the mosque its name.
• The sunken doorway, proof of how much the street has risen.
• The iron balconies of the neighbouring buildings.