CAPE TOWN – DAY 1 - THE MALAY QUARTER, DOWNTOWN AND THE AMAZING COFFEE BAR

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Once we had finished with Spier Hotel and Wine Farm, we were raring to go to the next leg of our trip.

The gorgeous Malay Quarter, which nestles at the foot of Signal Mountain, took our breath away. The buildings were all tastefully painted in lovely colours, and I could hardly contain myself as we drove around. Pinks and blues, greens and oranges, yellows and reds… the sight was magnificent.

History has it that the Malay Quarter came into being during the third quarter of the 18th century. In the 1830s, when slavery was abolished, it is believed that the Malays who had been forcibly brought into the Cape, now earned their freedom and began to shift into this area. By the middle of the 19th century, this area was dubbed the Islamic Quarter. The presence of this Quarter brought the Cape Malays together as a group, but in 1944, after World War 2, the quarter deteriorated to the extent that it was declared a slum. The City Council and the Historical Monuments Commission acted with the help of prominent citizens of Cape Town because they realized the significance of the quarter. On 15th April 1966, the Malay Quarter was declared a National Monument.

As we kept driving around, we could not help noticing the buildings around the CBD that loomed on either side. They were impressive and each seemed grander than the last.

 

All the driving had made us thirsty, and we hunted for coffee. The one that we walked into was very different from what one would expect of a normal coffee shop. It was called The Espresso Bar.


Our next leg... onto Signal Hill, where one could have a wonderful view of the Famed Table Mountain and Lion's head.

Photo Credits - Deepti Menon

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