Page 72 - Mokazine 4 Eng

discover moka
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4 historical buildings of Moka
Moka was the meeting point for businessmen, politicians, and aristocrats in the second half of the 19th century. Prominent figures decided to settle on the mountainside. The village was very popular because of its railway development, its pleasant climate, and its proximity to Port Louis. Over a century later, Moka remains a showcase of the architectural and cultural heritage of our island. Four iconic buildings give us a glimpse of the past.
Credit: @extinctmauritius
Eureka, the ambitious one
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X In the 1830s, the aristocrat, Mr Carr was determined to live near the Governor’s house! From this ambition, Eureka was born on a 110-acre estate that stretched from the Moka River to Mount Ory, next to Bagatelle, once owned by Pierre Poivre. Thirty-three years later, Eugène Leclézio, father of the Chief Justice Sir Eugène Leclézio, took up residence there. Eureka remained in his family for over a century.
The Creole House was renovated in the 1980s and is now a restaurant-cum- museum. Furniture from the Compagnie des Indes, fine Chinese porcelain, luxury tapestries, classical paintings, a marble bathtub and a vintage piano are part of its precious collection. P
Quatre Vents, the typical one
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X Les Quatre Vents is the name of a typical Mauritian house built in 1860 with white walls, blue shutters and a black roof. One might think that this was a forward-looking aesthetic choice of the time but these features actually reveal an architecture that was carefully thought-out to withstand the vagaries of a tropical climate.
It shows the resourcefulness of
the architects of the time. A layer of whitewash reduced the humidity of the walls and gave them their white colour; bitumen was used to waterproof the roof; and the beautiful blue colour of the shutters was that of permanganate, which repelled termites! P
70 MOKAZINE / NO 4 / 2022