Landmark Panorama of the Chiapini Street
The "Bo Kaap" or "Cape Malay Quarter" belongs to the culturally and historically most interesting parts of Cape Town. Many of the Muslim inhabitants are decendants of the people from Indonesia , Sri Lanka, India and Malaysia, who were captured in the 17th and 18th century and enslaved by the Dutch-East Indian Trading Company. The Cape Malays and their religious leaders played an important role in the development of the Afrikaans language and culture of the Cape colony. The Bo-kaap people have preserved their cultural identity, Muslemic creed and they are proud of their homes. They have restored most of the old houses and they've added a bit of a modern touch to it too The architectural style is a synthesis of Cape Dutch and Edwardian.