Set in one of the oldest surviving houses in the Bo-Kaap, built in the 1760s, this small museum on Wale Street recreates the home of a nineteenth-century Cape Malay Muslim family and traces the history of the community that has lived on these slopes since the days of slavery. The displays cover the arrival of slaves and political exiles from Southeast Asia, the rise of Islam at the Cape, and the everyday life — furniture, kitchenware, religious objects — of a Bo-Kaap household.
It is a modest stop, easily seen in half an hour, but it gives essential context to a walk through the surrounding streets of brightly painted houses. The museum sits within easy reach of the Auwal Mosque, South Africa's oldest, and makes a natural starting point before exploring the rest of the quarter, ideally with a Cape Malay cooking experience or a plate of curry to follow.