Melaka Historical City Day
Aaron
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Thursday, April 15, 2010
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Today is a public holiday of the state of Melaka, with the people here got a day off celebrating Melaka being conferred Historical City status. I was given a chance to promote Melaka in an essay but was not able to write much due to time constraint. I also don't even know who marked my paper for the SHU English test. Hopefully one of the Brits. I will introduce Melaka here as my first informational post. Enjoy. ^^
The history of Melaka spanning for over 600 years, beginning before the western nations start colonizing Asian countries for the raw materials. After 600 years and the "land title" switches hand a few times between several nations, what is left are beautiful landmarks that witness the happenings over the years.
As a tourist enter Malaysia, Melaka is a must go destination and the Porta de Santiago of the A' Famosa fortress would be top of the list. The arch to enter the St Paul's Hill area is the longest standing building in the state. Built by the Portuguese after conquering the state, it is the only structure left standing out of the whole fortress. Around that area would also be the location of St Paul's Church, Christ Church and more than 20 museums.
Another attraction that is just a 5 minutes drive away is the St John's Fort. Build atop Bukit Pipi, it is a fort build by the Dutch to protect themselves against intruding Johoreans. The much less visited landmark is distinct as eight of of nine of the cannons are facing inland. Now the little hill is a good jogging area for the Malaccan people.
A few minutes drive will bring you to a Chinese Temple, the Poh San Teng. It is named after the Bukit Chinese behind it. History says that the temple was actually first built by the Kapitan of Melaka as a resting place for the Chinese that visited the graves on top of the hill. The temple also has a statue of Admiral Cheng Ho who is ironically a Muslim. Chinese believes that one can gain luck by touching the tummy , hat and sword of the statue. There are also two famous wells to be visited here.
Got bored of visiting historical sites, tourists enjoy a night market that is held on weekends in Jonker Street. The road is closed for the evening of weekends for hawkers to put their stuffs for sale. A walk down the street will amaze the tourists with handicrafts, antiques and local delicacies. Look out for events and performance during festive seasons.
Just a street down would be a unique street in Melaka, the Harmony Street or previously known as Jalan Tukang Besi. Here one can find the place of worship for the Chinese, Indian and Malays. The Cheng Hoon Teng is a place of worship for three distinct religion, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Walking further down that particular street, one can see the Kampong Kling Mosque and Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Hindu Temple standing side by side. This represented the harmonious society of Malaccan and Malaysian.
Another place of worship would be the oldest Catholic church in Malaysia, the St Peter's Church, which had just celebrated its 300th anniversary.
As tourists tour around Melaka, food is nothing they need to worry about. Melaka is a heaven for those who craved for food. From the Baba Nyonyas to the Portuguese Eurasians, each race have their own signature dishes to show. First stop, the Nyonya food. Some of the special food on offer are Itik Dim, Sambal Petai and Masak Lemak. One can also try Portuguese food at the Portuguese Settlement, which includes many types of spicy food. A choice for a good supper would be the Satay Celup, while I personally don't suggest people to try the Chicken Rice Balls.
Melaka is a heaven for tourist. Tourists that come to the state will get to go home and feel satisfied the the value gained from the numbers spent.
The history of Melaka spanning for over 600 years, beginning before the western nations start colonizing Asian countries for the raw materials. After 600 years and the "land title" switches hand a few times between several nations, what is left are beautiful landmarks that witness the happenings over the years.
As a tourist enter Malaysia, Melaka is a must go destination and the Porta de Santiago of the A' Famosa fortress would be top of the list. The arch to enter the St Paul's Hill area is the longest standing building in the state. Built by the Portuguese after conquering the state, it is the only structure left standing out of the whole fortress. Around that area would also be the location of St Paul's Church, Christ Church and more than 20 museums.
Another attraction that is just a 5 minutes drive away is the St John's Fort. Build atop Bukit Pipi, it is a fort build by the Dutch to protect themselves against intruding Johoreans. The much less visited landmark is distinct as eight of of nine of the cannons are facing inland. Now the little hill is a good jogging area for the Malaccan people.
A few minutes drive will bring you to a Chinese Temple, the Poh San Teng. It is named after the Bukit Chinese behind it. History says that the temple was actually first built by the Kapitan of Melaka as a resting place for the Chinese that visited the graves on top of the hill. The temple also has a statue of Admiral Cheng Ho who is ironically a Muslim. Chinese believes that one can gain luck by touching the tummy , hat and sword of the statue. There are also two famous wells to be visited here.
Got bored of visiting historical sites, tourists enjoy a night market that is held on weekends in Jonker Street. The road is closed for the evening of weekends for hawkers to put their stuffs for sale. A walk down the street will amaze the tourists with handicrafts, antiques and local delicacies. Look out for events and performance during festive seasons.
Just a street down would be a unique street in Melaka, the Harmony Street or previously known as Jalan Tukang Besi. Here one can find the place of worship for the Chinese, Indian and Malays. The Cheng Hoon Teng is a place of worship for three distinct religion, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Walking further down that particular street, one can see the Kampong Kling Mosque and Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Hindu Temple standing side by side. This represented the harmonious society of Malaccan and Malaysian.
Another place of worship would be the oldest Catholic church in Malaysia, the St Peter's Church, which had just celebrated its 300th anniversary.
As tourists tour around Melaka, food is nothing they need to worry about. Melaka is a heaven for those who craved for food. From the Baba Nyonyas to the Portuguese Eurasians, each race have their own signature dishes to show. First stop, the Nyonya food. Some of the special food on offer are Itik Dim, Sambal Petai and Masak Lemak. One can also try Portuguese food at the Portuguese Settlement, which includes many types of spicy food. A choice for a good supper would be the Satay Celup, while I personally don't suggest people to try the Chicken Rice Balls.
Melaka is a heaven for tourist. Tourists that come to the state will get to go home and feel satisfied the the value gained from the numbers spent.
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