You'll know you're in the Bo-Kaap (Afrikaans for "on top of the Cape") when you catch the heady smell wafting from Atlas Trading Co., which is often packed with housewives stocking up on fresh spices, or when you hear the call of the muezzin from one of the many mosques in the area. You might even have to sidestep lights, cameras, and film stars, since the district is an oft-used setting for movies and magazine shoots -- the brightly colored houses make a stunning backdrop. Bo-Kaap is the historic home of the city's Muslim population, brought from the East as slaves in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. So it's no surprise that it's also home to the Auwal Mosque, the oldest mosque in South Africa. Today the area remains strongly Muslim, and it's fascinating to wander the narrow cobbled lanes past mosques and colorful flat-roof houses. Here you'll find the largest collection of pre-1840 architecture in South Africa, with many homes combining elements of Cape Dutch and British styles. The Bo-Kaap is also known as the Malay quarter, even though its inhabitants originated from all over, including the Indonesian archipelago, India, Turkey, and Madagascar. To experience all that the area has to offer and because there have been a few muggings in the Bo-Kaap, we recommend that you take a guided tour or stick to Buitengracht, Dorp, Rose, and Shortmarket streets.