South Africa IV - City Bowl and Bo-Kaap

A walking tour of the Citybowl is essential to any trip to Capetown. I think it is called the Citybowl for two reasons: a) it would sound funny to say Capetown's downtown and b) it really is shaped like a bowl. Capetown has a certain beauty all around, it really lies all around its natural environment with homes and development that simply hugs the surrounding geography. As you might see, the downtown really is in the shape of a bowl

Ah, the joys of youthful education and uniforms! This picture was taken moments before they noticed me and began smiling and waving.

Bo-Kaap is a very old muslim district located up the "bowl" from downtown. There are several old mosques dating as far back as 1794. This is the Owal mosque which dates back to 1794...hey, How about that!?

The residents of Bo-Kaap painted their homes in beautiful pastel colors. I was told this was in response to the forced eviction of the residents of District 6 in the 70's. That is a long story, I did go there but there is only a museum now. I suggest looking it up as it is an important historical event in South Africa's apartheid period.

This guy! His name is John and he is a variety of busker who walks around the "bowl" getting his picture taken with tourists. I heard he is 27 years old and is trying to build the world's largest/heaviest hat made of eggs. The one he was here weighs over 30kg. He is also making a call on his "cell phone".

Street vendors! This is my favourite part, Africans are very accomodating hagglers. Unlike Asian vendors who can be indifferent (Thailand), bitter (Korea), and downright fearsome (China). I was actually looking for a traditional mask, an authentic one which would not be found in a market here. I did end up finding a store well stocked with all types of ritual masks, but I couldn't imagine having my back turned on any of them while they were hanging on my wall. So, I settled for the mass produced aesthetics of the Greenmarket square.