Heritage body halts shrine renovation over ‘shiny’ tiles
ON GUARD: Caretaker Jaffer Ismail looks after the kramat on Signal Hill, which has been damaged by leaks and burglars A FACELIFT at one of the sacred sites on Signal Hill in Cape Town has been halted by a heritage watchdog.
Heritage Western Cape wants the Cape Mazaar Society to submit plans before it continues with the renovation of the kramat — or holy shrine — on Signal Hill.
Damage was caused by a leaking roof and by vandals trying to gain access to the building, the burial site of Sheikh Mohamed Hassen Ghaibie Shah al-Qadri and used by Muslims for prayer.
Abdul Latis Rawoot, founder of the Cape Mazaar Society — which cares for more than 20 kramats in the Cape Peninsula — said renovations were halted earlier this year.
“There is a little hassle about the tiling on the outside because according to [Heritage Western Cape] it is too shiny,” he said.
“It has a glossy effect, so they say we must change it to a darker tile. But originally, the building that was there was painted white. It didn’t blend in with the mountain.”
He said society members were working on the plan and would rectify the tile problem, but were determined to make the 50-year-old structure weatherproof before next winter’s rains.
“The building was completely wet. The water was coming through the walls, so we had to replaster and waterproof and put tiles inside and outside to prevent the water from coming in,” he said.
The kramat is a tourist attraction, and caretaker Jaffer Ismail said Muslims visited to pray, particularly at weekends.
But criminals living on the mountain had targeted the building, forcing a locked burglar gate twice so far this year. “They even broke a hole in the [grave] . . . they want me out of here because they want to smoke their drugs here,” he said.
Last year, Ismail armed himself with a paintball gun to repel what he said was a group of about nine men targeting the kramat.
“Three of them know [the significance of the site] because they are Muslims . . . they take the money out of here [from a donations box on the site],” he said.
Part of the renovation plan involves building a wall around the kramat.
Heritage Western Cape CEO Mxolisi Dlamuka confirmed that a “stop works” notice had been issued and an application to lift it had not yet been received.
“The entrance area was expanded upon and raised, the wooden door frames and window frames were replaced with aluminium, the boundary wall was expanded from the original footprint,” Dlamuka said.
“The tiles used on the external walls . . . are of a marble finish with a shine. These tiles are deemed inappropriate as the kramat is located within a site which is environmentally and visually sensitive.”
The criminals want me out because they want to smoke drugs here