So genteel and gracious, it's no wonder Charleston, South Carolina has consistently ranked among the country's most elegant and mannerly cities. Charleston's heritage, pedigree even, shows not just in a range of historic architecture, but in the very attitude of its people. It is a proud city, full of its own traditions and quirks and, in a quintessentially Southern way, tremendously welcoming.

"Yenna wan' cass ya eye 'bout Chaa'stun?" (Translation: Do you want to see [cast your eyes about] Charleston?) This invitation flows from a guide's tongue in the liquid dialect of South Carolina's Gullahs. African-Americans were the backbone of Charleston industry adding greatly to the existing knowledgebase in many areas including animal herding, iron working and boat manufacturing. In addition, Black Charlestonians brought with them distinct cooking forms, unique language (Gullah) and behavior heavily influenced by African and Caribbean culture.

Home Place by Jonathan Green - a Lowcountry native

Famous "Southern Cooking"

In Charleston, sample the low-country "calabash" style seafood and the southern style cooking. The food is heavy on spices, often fried, and unique to the area. Try southern biscuits and calabash shrimp. Another local favorite is the requisite shrimp and grits and, of course, who can forget the Southern Sweet Iced Tea!

Folk Art

The folk art found in the Carolina Low Country tends to be relatively static by nature. Wrought iron gates, for instance, not only represent an actual border, but also act as a symbol of permanence. Immovable and communal artifacts like gates exemplify the importance of a shared local heritage. Similarly, art forms such as sea grass baskets, are necessarily stable within the low country. Originally an African art form, the materials are limited to temperate coastal regions. This natural limitation prevents the migration of this outside of the low country.