Having taken the “Fast Ferry” (don’t take it if you can help it) from Brava to Fogo, and then to Santiago, we had the opportunity to visit Cidade Velha while waiting for our flight out to São Vicente. Cape Verde’s oldest settlement, Cidade Velha, is a UNESCO heritage site on the southern coast of Santiago. It is only a short drive away from the capital, Praia. The town has a colourful and tortured history. It was both an important port for slave trading and an essential stop for Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus, as they went on quests which eventually led to the age of European colonisation.
Four Major Sights in Cidade Velha
Nowadays, Cidade Velha is a bustling town that thrives primarily on the tourist trade. It’s not very big, and can basically be experienced in half a day. That is exactly what we did while waiting for our flight to São Vicente. All in all, there are four areas, or sites of interest, here. They are the Fort Real de São Filipe, which looks over the downtown area of Cidade Velha, the Nossa Senhora do Rosário Church, the Pillory Monument, and finally the Rue des Bananas.
The Fort Real de São Filipe, completed in 1593, was one of the strongest in its time. Unsurprisingly so, as it was constructed at the peak of Europe’s Age of Discovery. The Fort served as an effective defence against challenges to Portuguese hegemony. Actually, it was built in response to the sacking of Cidade Velha in 1585 by England’s Sir Francis Drake. For almost two centuries, Cidade Velha was both a place of concentrated wealth and one of great geostrategic importance. Walking around the thick, high walls of the fort, this fact becomes strikingly apparent.
The Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário is along the slopes of the town, only a short drive down from the fort. It is the oldest colonial church in the world. However, it is, unfortunately, practically in ruins. Nevertheless, it is still possible to imagine its original layout and make out the different additions to the church that have been made over the centuries.
Slavery – Cidade Velha’s Dark Past
In the town centre itself, prominently stands the Pillory Monument, a testament to Cape Verde’s dark history and the key role it once held in the slave trade. However, I found it difficult to reconcile the look of this nondescript, white stone pillar with the terrible practices of the past, which it represented.
Today it stands fenced off, as if in a museum, surrounded by Cape Verdean craftsmen and hawkers selling trinkets to tourists.
It was here that we met a few young Cape Verdean boys playing a very exciting game of foosball. They were more than happy to have us take their picture and talk about their favourite football players.
The Banana Street – a Storybook Experience
At the eastern edge of the town lies the Rue des Bananas (the Banana Street). This is a small, charming, winding street, lined with stone houses packed side by side. Indeed, it is a place right out of a storybook, with the houses sporting colourful roofs and windows, often curtained by beautifully patterned fabrics.
Women sat outside the houses making crafts and jewellery for sale. Further down the street, we encountered a pig pen with adorable, small, spotted piglets.
We also spotted a couple of cute Bed and Breakfast places and wondered that it must be quite an experience to be able to stay in them, in such a place so rich in history and close to nature.
