Cape Town, SA
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Halal food in Cape Town
When I visited Cape Town, looking for Halal Muslim food was very easy. This is due to the fact that about 10% of the population are made of Muslims. Other than that, there are some restaurants that serve only seafood.
If you are lazy to go find Halal Muslim food around the town, you can always go to Victoria Wharf’s Food Court at Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. There are quite a selection of Halal food there. There’s Nur, Anat, Subway and many more.
If you are not into Arabic/Indian/Middle East food, you can always opt for Texie’s. They serve Snoek and Chips, Seafood Platter, Calamari Gatsby, etc. Texie’s can be found all over Cape Town; there’s one on Adderley Street (just opposite Fountains Hotel where I stayed), there’s one at Sea Point, one at Grand Parade (near Cape Town City Hall). You can view the directory here.
And of course there’s huge selection of seafood restaurants around Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.
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Personal safety in Cape Town
Prior to my trip to Cape Town in July 2011, I did a research about how safe is Cape Town. From what I read, mostly from personal encounters, walking/driving alone at night is not safe. Apart from that it is advised to avoid carrying large sums of cash and having cameras or video cameras hang around the neck.
My husband and I did all the above and thankfully we walked safely during the days of our 6 days trip there. We were very cautious about walking at night. The streets of Cape Town became very quiet after 7pm. There was once when my husband walked across the streets looking for snacks. We already had our dinner but the cold weather made us hungry. He came back after 10 minutes saying that the streets seemed dead. There was even someone tailing him but he sensed something not right and walked back fast to the hotel. After that, we just took away something everyday before making our way back to the hotel. There was one day that we took a taxi as it was already past 9pm. We went for a movie (Transformer) and dared not walk back to the hotel in the dark. We took a cab instead and paid R40. I know it was expensive but we were very concerned about our safety.
Cape Town is trying very hard to prevent crime and have made considerable efforts to safeguard tourists against crime. Surveillance cameras monitor activities in the central Business District and security guards watch over the major shopping centers and crime prone area.
The CCID’s security partnership, working with the Central City’s business community, the South African Police Services and other security organisations and stakeholders, have formed a tight security net around the City.
Due to this cooperative effort, the crime rate has dropped significantly and many incidents are prevented from happening. The valuable complementary services provided by the CCID security partnership ensures that additional officers are being deployed in the Central City 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In case of emergency, here are important contact numbers for Cape Town:
Ambulance: 10177
Fire Brigade: 461 5555
Flying Squad: 10111
Mountain Rescue: 10111
Police: 467 8000
Police (Tourist Assistance Unit): 418 2852
Sea Rescue: 405 3500I feel the need to share this article and hope it gives you an insight about personal safety in Cape Town.
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Art and nature stroll
Company Garden, Cape Town – 23 Jul 2011
The last place I visited in Cape Town was the South Africa National Gallery. I didn’t take any pictures inside because the house rules forbids anybody to take pictures.
The Great Vladimir Tretchikoff retrospective exhibition was on when I visited and I had great time looking closely at all his paintings. His main subjects are exotic people and flowers.The exhibition aims to examine Tretchikoff anew and place him in contemporary perspective. Many iconic works such as the “Chinese Girl” and “The Dying Swan” were on display.
For those not in the know, Tretchikoff (1913–2006) was one of the most commercially successful artists of all time. His painting, “Chinese Girl” (popularly known as “The Green Lady”), is one of the best-selling art prints ever. He was considered to be one of the richest artists, with earnings comparable to Picasso. He pioneered the idea of selling affordable copies of his works, enabling working class people to own art.
Tretchikoff was a self-taught artist who painted realistic figures, portraits, still life and animals, with subjects often inspired by his early life in China and Malaysia, and later life in South Africa. His work was immensely popular with the public, but is often seen by art critics as the epitome of kitsch (indeed, he was nicknamed the “King of Kitsch”). He worked in oil, watercolour, ink, charcoal and pencil but is best known for his reproduction prints which sold worldwide in huge numbers.
After the Second World War he settled in South Africa. Sadly, he suffered a stroke in 2002 that left him unable to paint, and died on 26 August 2006 in Cape Town. But his paintings are truly inspiring.
After the exhibition, we just strolled out at the Company Garden in front of the gallery.
Company Gardens is a large public park and botanical garden set in the heart of Cape Town, home to a rose garden, Japanese garden, fish pond and aviary.
The garden is generally teeming with locals (including geese), who seek out the fresh air and beautiful views of Table Mountain. The tree-lined avenue, with its benches and resident squirrels, forms a pathway between the suburb of Gardens and the city centre.
Company Gardens is the oldest garden in the country and is intricately bound with the arts in South Africa. Besides having the art gallery within the park, it is also the venue of a number of festivals, including the Human Rights Concert and the Youth Festival.
And these concluded my visit to Cape Town. I really hope to be able to travel to Cape Town again to visit all those places that I didn’t get to visit and to meet penguins and whales that I didn’t get to meet. Until I can do that, I need to save lots of money and bring my son along.
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Sketch Sunday #6: sketching up in the sky
Drawn at the altitude of 34987 ft , some 5565km from home, to the tune of Megan Washington and few others.
That’s a bracelet I got myself from Kaapstad.
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Thought I Died and Gone to Heaven
The cool breeze of the bay seemed to welcome us but the wind-blown sands from the gust of wind seemed to test our ability to stand the ground. We hold on to each other and try not to surrender and let it win. But you know gust, it comes and goes as the please and as the gust slowed down for awhile, there we were, a couple in our forties, walking hand in hand to enjoy the beauty of the white-sanded beach called Camps Bay.
I soon found myself clicking the shutter of my camera. There, right where the sea meets the sand, was a family strolling happily enjoying the fresh wind.
There, on the rock, were two boys trying to freeze the waves with their camera.
There, right in front of me, was my significant other standing on the rock amidst the magnificence of the bluest of the sky, posing one for the album. I quickly captured the moment and thought, “wow, is this heaven?”
I sat to enjoy the scenery – the 23mph wind blew constantly, gaining momentum as it skipped across the waves, disregarding obstacles in its pathway. The sudden gust, probably at 27mph, blew the sands directly to my face that I had to bow to let it pass respectfully.
Flock of seagulls seemed to know how to handle the situation. They took cover behind the rocks which acted as a barrier to the wind.
I walked to the big rocks to get the a clear picture of them. At the same time, the wind blew invigorating salty air that I suppose was derived by seaweed, phytoplankton, marsh plants and even some bacterias. The smell triggered my appetite and I took out the egg sandwiches purchased from Pick N Pay at the beachfront across the main road and shared it with my husband.
Soon, a gang of seagulls loitered on the rocks near where we sat and made that loud squawking noise s if they were saying “give us some, give us some.”
My husband fed them. They were insatiable…
…wanting more… even when I took out my peach yogurt.
They were oh so adorable!
That was amongst the wonders of the day. The frustration earlier from not getting on top of the Table Mountain was quickly forgotten.
Camps Bay is an affluent suburb, 7 minutes away from the Central Business District of Cape Town. Lined with palm trees on the beachfront, with white sandy beaches, brilliant blue sea and majestic mountains in the background, Camps Bay beach is one of Cape Town’s largest and one of the most beautiful beaches.
The cosmopolitan beachfront is vibrant throughout the year and people throng the pavement cafes and restaurants enjoying the ambiance.If one needs a meal with a view, Camps Bay’s beachfront is well appointed with many restaurants, cafes and bars. From casual light meals to five star internationally acclaimed cuisine, the restaurants in Camps Bay cater to every taste and budget.
My drawings on Camps Bay? You must be kidding, on a place like this, who needs to draw!
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Closed Table
Somewhere in Cape Town, where greatness comes embellished with Ordovician quartzitic sandstone and orographic clouds, there was a traveller crying quietly in her heart for not being able to capture the majestic view from the flat topped Table Mountain.
Truly a major disappointment in life.
My travel dates to Cape Town, which was from July 20 to 25, coincided with the Table Mountain Cableway’s annual maintenance which was from July 18 to 31. If I had been there three days earlier, it would have changed the history of my life, and I could happily claim to be on top of the world.
The 2011 maintenance plan includes major power line repairs and servicing the hydraulics and main motor gear box. Table Mountain Cableway is required to do annual maintenance to meet the highest global cableway standards set by the Swiss Governing Body for Cableways (BAV).
Of course there is an option for hiking, but I was not all prepared – mentally and physically. Furthermore, although the distance from bottom to top may sound short (about three kilometres), the hike is a physically demanding “moderate to tough” route that takes between one and three or more hours to complete.
For what it’s worth, my husband and I did get on the trail, and he wanted to go further up. But as my knees were not really up to it, we just made it half way. I could see the disappointment although he tried to hide it. But he knows I would get all weary. I can walk and stroll, but not ascend.
Nonetheless, I took some photos and sketched something.
Here’s a bit about Table Mountain.
Often described as magical and mystical, Table Mountain is Cape Town’s most prominent feature and a world-famous landmark. This mountain is visible from almost everywhere in Cape Town and is often used as a beacon by which to find direction.
The mountain rises 1,086 metres at its highest point, Maclears Beacon, above the bay. Its flat summit measures nearly three kilometres and provides breathtaking views over the city and its beaches. The panorama stretches from Table Bay to False Bay and around the mountain to the Hout Bay Valley and Kommetjie.
On a clear day one has a magnificent view across the Cape Flats to the Hottentots Holland Mountains.
Table Mountain is home to a rich fauna and flora, many species of which are endemic and survive only in the unique ecosystem which is contained on the mountain. There are approximately 1,470 species of plants, including over 250 different species of daisies.
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Cape Town Day 2: Bo Kaap
Bo-Kaap is a place that was on the top on my list during my visit to Cape Town. I was dying to find out why it is called Cape Malay.
watercolor on watercolor paper
The distance from Waterfront to Bo-Kaap is about 20 minutes by foot, but I told my husband that I was too lazy to walk (or probably tired from exploring Robben Island earlier in the day), so we took a taxi instead. Cost us about R45. We wanted to go the Bo-Kaap Museum, but the taxi driver did not know where it was, so we requested him to just drop us off somewhere uphill at Yusuf Drive. I like the sound of it. Yusuf is one of the most common Muslim names besides Muhammad. There are also street names like Astana and Tana Baru – words that are familiar to us.
Me on Yusuf Drive, on the background is Cape Town.
Anyway, Bo-Kaap (meaning ‘Upper Cape’) is nestled at the foot of Signal Hill on central Cape Town’s western perimeter. The houses here are unique. They are characterised by narrow streets and cobbled lanes with charming and colourful rows of houses. I love the green ones…and the pink ones…and the turquoise ones…oh, I love all of them!
As we were mesmerised by the houses and buildings in the area, we missed the museum. Anyway, I visited the Bo-Kaap Museum online and found some interesting facts about the history of Bo-Kaap.
According to the museum, Bo-Kaap today is comprised of four areas: the Malay Quarter, Stadzicht, Schotsche Kloof and Schoone Kloof. Although the Bo-Kaap has over centuries, been home to people of various origins and religions, the area is closely associated with the Muslim community of the Cape. The ancestors of the majority of the Muslims in the Cape arrived from 1658 onwards as slaves, political exiles and convicts from East Africa and South East Asia (India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka).
The first mosque at the Cape, the Auwal Mosque, was built in the neighbourhood in 1804 and is still in use, although much altered over years. By the beginning of the twentieth century, roughly half the population in the area was Muslim.
From some of the websites on the Internet and also from the Hop-On Hop-Off bus commentary, I found out that Bo Kaap is incorrectly branded as Cape Malay. I’m not sure what the fuss is all about, but I think the fact from history (that goes back to 1658) where most slaves came from Indonesia (who were from Malay descendants) must be why. In my opinion, it is not incorrectly branded, but word-of-mouth rules and the word ‘Malay’ has been carried from generation to generation.
watercolor on watercolor paper
From the Bo-Kaap Museum online, I also found out that in 1943, recognising that the unique character and historic value of the area was being eroded, several prominent citizens formed the “Group for the Preservation of the Malay Quarter,’ headed by Dr E G Jansen and included amongst others Dr I D du Plessis and Mr William Fehr. As a result of their lobbying, 15 houses and a mosque in the block between Chiappini, Shortmarket, Rose and Longmarket Streets were restored in 1951.
Despite the protests of many residents, Bo-Kaap was declared a ‘Malay Group Area’ under the Group Areas Act n 1957. In 1966, under pressure from the public, the Historical Monuments Commission (later the National Monuments Council) and the Department of Community Development, the houses between Rose and Chiappini and Longmarket and Wale Streets were declared a national monument.
Ons is honger (we were hungry in Afrikaans). So, after taking pictures and a walk in the Bo-Kaap area, my husband and I got hungry. It was 5 pm and the weather was getting colder. We went to the nearby Biesmillah Restaurant. We went in, waited almost 10 minutes but there was nobody to serve us (probably busy in the kitchen), so we just walked out.
Biesmillah Restaurant at Waal Street.
We walked further down Wale Street and took a turn at Bree Street and found a restaurant, called Simply Good Food just below EC Cape Town English Language School. We had tuna sandwiches and coffee.
Later we just walked along Church Street that leads to St Georges Mall. I found a lot of interesting shops along the streets, but as they were already closing, we just headed straight back to the hotel. We noticed that shops were closing early, as early as 5 pm. Maybe it was due to the winter weather.
Here are some pictures of Bo Kaap houses and buildings:
