Syuadah's reflection

I have definitely attained more information pertaining Kampung Glam now. Even as a malay, I did not have much knowledge about its history. I could only recall the times my mother and I went to Arab Street, hunting for textiles for the Malay festive seasons.

What was really fascinating for me was the fact that the Sultan Mosque has soya sauce bottles beneath one of its minaret for preservation purposes. Even after having visited it for prayers before, I have not noticed that before! As a national monument, the mosque had taken measures to teach tourists about its history. When we visited, I noticed boards with the mosque’s historical information on them. There were also pamphlets in Japanese for the Japanese tourists. On some days, there are tour guides for tourists as well. As a muslim, I feel quite ashamed that I probably know lesser than these tourists.

While waiting for Fitri, the call to afternoon prayer was made and so Hamizah, Afroza and I headed to the Sultan Mosque to pray. Xiang Lin was there too and she followed us to the ablution area where we cleansed ourselves. I felt it was necessary for me to explain to her what we were doing because she was still foreign to our practice. It then dawned on me it is my job to have a clear insight on the history of a subject in order to explain it well to her. Therefore, this heritage trail has somewhat made me come to senses that I cannot be so ignorant about our history.

We started the trail with our first stop, the Malay Heritage Centre. It was a fruitful experience especially when we went into the Malay Museum. I learnt about the history of my grandparents, as they were from the island Bawean which most probably meant that they were ‘Orang Laut’. There were also a few Qurans on display and I could sense a strong connection between Islam and the Malays then. Kampong Glam was also the point where pilgrims going to Mecca for the Hajj would meet before setting off on large steam ships.

Conservation of some of the buildings in the trail has taken place. For example, the Sultan Mosque and Gedung Kuning still stand today. However, the latter is now no longer a mansion but a restaurant, Tapak Sireh. But it remains bright yellow, hence, we could easily locate it during the trail. The compounds of the Sultan Palace are now used as a tourists’ attraction, with the palace being a museum. I was actually astounded when I found out we were in the palace itself. The Pondok Java and the Lee Hoy Blacksmith Shop, on the other hand, are no longer standing. The Pondok Java was deemed structurally unsafe hence brought down. We believe that a restaurant stands in the place of the Lee Hoy Blacksmith Shop today. (this is just a conjecture)

I am sure that to every heritage trail, there is a unique history waiting to be uncovered. Some of the structures are conserved so that the future generation can have a chance to relook and try to get a feel of what it felt like in its heyday. At first, when I found out that my group got the Kampung Glam trail, I felt a tad disappointed because I wished I had gotten a trail that was not related to my own cultural roots, like Little India or Chinatown. But at the end of the day, I learnt that I am actually quite clueless about my own heritage.

Fitri's Reflections

The first thing that comes to my mind when someone mentions about going to Kampung Glam would be the myriad of textile shops that my mum would visit every hari raya to buy cloth for hers and my sisters baju kurung, the eccletic shops of Haji lane and the numerous sheesha outlets that line the streets at night. Recently, the appeal of Kampung Glam has grown onto me after I found out one can get a fake world cup football jersey for a very cheap price. But thats another story for another day.

For a Malay boy living in the glitzy cosmopolitan Singapore, I must admit Im a pretty lousy Malay. Back when i was younger and somewhat foolish, I hated Malay class and was disinterested in Malay culture. I baulked at the idea of having to read Malay storybooks, newspapers and foolishly ignorant of my own ignorance. As a result, i grew up not knowing much about my own culture, heritage and language. In a way, Im only Malay in my IC. Which I think is very sad.

They say for you to know who you are today, you need to know where you came from.


And so, how apt was it that we got Kampung Glam for our heritage trail. The trail was really as much as a fact findng assignment as it was me discovering my heritage. Now, I wouldnt say that after the heritage trail, I found out my identity and my heritage and managed to undo 22 years of foolish ignorance, cause that would just being me trying to suck up to Dr Lim for better grades in my Japanese Occupation presentation later. But rather, it motivated me to find out more about my community, made me more aware of my roots.


We visited many places during the trail, but the most interesting and perhaps significant for me was the first stop, the Malay Heritage Centre. Not only because it was a hot day and the museum happened to be airconditioned, but also due to the historical artifacts it holds inside. From the traditional Malay weapons to the P Ramlee films of the charming 1950s, it was as much as a new learning experience for me as it was I'm sure to Xiang Lin.


One thing that i found sad personally, was really how the authenticity of history has sort of diminished over time. For some of the places that we went to, they were in my eyes, merely reduced to a tourist attraction and at times i found myself questioning if the experience of the place was authentic or a mere recreation by the STB to attract tourists.

Reflection.

Before i completed this heritage trail, i had the least idea that there is a history behind the names of the streets. For example, the Bussorah Street. The same goes for the shops available there. I did not think that the shops there were influenced by external factors too. The most interesting discovery for my group is the existence of a cemetery near Kubor Road which was definitely not well taken care of. Not only was it just that but also the anonimity of the graves. Hence i feel that during this part of the journey, it was difficult for us to determine the people who were buried there. After completing the trail, i have come to realise that today's generation will be oblivious to the reasons and heritage behind national monuments and communities if they are not exposed to it. Some might argue that they are aware of their existence but to what extent do they understand is questionable. I think this learning journey was fruitful because it allows my team members and i to discover a whole new layer of Kampong Glam.

As seen from all the gazetted national monuments available in Singapore, it can be seen that the the preservation of historical sites is successful. I believe that for those who do not know much about history behind places in Singapore, this is the purpose of historical sites. Sure people might not be visiting these sites for leisure purposes but it can be assured that they will be visiting such places for heritage trail (like how we did). From here, it does lead to the discovery of many interesting information behind these places. It is impossible to say that one is ignorant after visiting these places.

Xianglin's reflection

Personal Experience

The heritage trail to kampong glam was definitely a whole new experience for me. Frankly speaking, I have never really venture around the kampong glam area before. I was fortunate to be able to explore this area with my group mates, who are from the Malay community and hence much more familiar with the area.

As the only Chinese member, I was filled with apprehension of doing anything that might seem inappropriate or offensive inside the mosque. It was my first time stepping inside a Mosque and I even followed my group mates to the washing area (where they had to wash and clean up before prayer). I was at a loss, unsure of what to do and I tried to imitate whatever they were doing. I think I must have looked really silly then. Though I did not participate in the actual praying ceremony, I did take a look at the prayer hall after it. The entire place felt sacred and the first thought that I had was that it is much cleaner and orderly than the Chinese temples. The Malays treat their mosque with respect and the dress codes and conducts are strictly adhere to. The sultan mosque is a national monument and many tourists are seen around the area.

I have to admit I learnt a lot from this heritage trail. Before, I did not have the slightest idea that Sultan Mosque was named due to Sultan Hussein, and he is being buried there. Initially, we also couldn’t figure out what was interesting about the dome (goes to show how unobservant we are). After finding out the black area below the domes was actually made up of soya sauce bottle, we were all amaze at the discovery. I was also surprised to note that there was a Muslim cemetery in the city area and that some of the streets were named due to the heavy Arab influence in Kampong Glam. The trail allows me to see the area in a whole new light.

How far is conservation and commercial reuse of historical sites in Singapore successful in preserving our historical heritage?

Without the heritage trail, I would probably never visit some of the places, much less find out about the historical background of the area. Through this trip, I can see the conscious effort of the government to conserve some of the buildings through including them as national monuments and efforts to restore or revamp the structures. Traditional shophouses and buildings also remained and converted into commercial establishments such as restaurants, shops and others. But this is just one side of the story.

Looking more carefully, out of the list of places we visited, only two are categorized as national monuments. Among others, some were already torn down (Pondok Java), burnt down (Lee Loy Hin Blacksmith), converted (from Istana Kampong Glam to Malay Heritage Centre), some were not taken proper care of, and looks like would be non-existent in the future (Kubor Muslim Cemetery). Preservation of the historical sites is important for future generations (like us) to discover more about the area and history. Yet practical considerations have transformed the area to a tourism attraction, perhaps pretending to retain some of its original authenticity to draw the crowds. Only certain ‘spots’ in the map, instead of the entire street can be considered as historical sites. For example, the shops dominating the region around the sultan mosque are selling souvenirs targeted at tourists. Also, only the two national monuments have information regarding its past and origins, others with equally rich historical background, seem to be long forgotten by people. I feel that what they manage to conserve is only the exterior of the place and not the history and spirit of the area.

It seems as if locals actually have no interest in the history of the places we live in. The majority of the crowd there seems to be going for prayers, shopping or eating. Except for the tourists and us, no one actually bothered to go to the heritage museum. Interestingly, we came across a tour group when we were doing our trail. Out of curiosity, I approached the tour guide and asked him if he knew the presence of a Lee Loy Hin blacksmith shop in the vicinity. He was busy asking the tour group to buy-this, buy-that and was taken aback when I questioned him. So, all he did was say, “Why do you want to know about that? Later later, go look around the shop.” Apparently, he knew nothing much about kampong glam. It disturbs me that the tour guide knew nothing about the historical background of the place. The presence of kampong glam seems to serve as a symbol to attract tourists to go there and spend money, instead of sharing our rich and colourful history of Singapore to others. What good is the National Monuments conserved when people know nothing about them?

To top it off, the visitsingapore website describes the Sultan Mosque and the site of the old Istana Kampong Glam as “they all carry an air of royalty from the past”, “The building and architecture has been meticulously restored to retain its flavour and authenticity”. I find this highly dubious especially after visiting the sites for myself. As far as I can tell, there was nothing ‘authentic’ nor really ‘from the past’. I guess what our government has preserved is not our historical heritage but our tourism industry?

Stopover #2 Gedung Kuning

Gedung Kuning which is also known as the Bendahara House sits adjacent to Istana Kampung Glam. The name 'Gedung Kuning' refers to Yellow Mansion, with yellow being the colour of Malay royalty. It was built around 1860 and was once home to Tengku Mahmoud of Johor, a grandson of Sultan Hussein.

It was eventually sold to Haji Yusoff 'Tali Pinggang', a Malay entrepreneur and philantrophist in 1912. Because the word 'Tali Pinggang' refers to a men's belt, I had initially thought Haji Yusoff got that nickname because he used to whip people with his belt. The stern and uncompromising looking picture of Haji Yusoff at the lobby did not help to dispel this assumption either.

It was only till later that i found out that the nickname 'Tali Pinggang' simply refers to the type of business he was doing, that is to make and sell belts for pilgrims who were going to Mecca for haj. His family owned the mansion before selling it to the Singapore government in 1999. Together with the adjacent Istana Kampung Gelam, it was restored and converted into Tepak Sireh, a Malay restaurant that serves traditional Malay food. Which is overly expensive and isnt very nice.

Unfortunately for us, we did not manage to really explore the place, seeing that our arrival was greeted with curious and suspicious glances from the waiters. We had to make do with exploring what I reckon is the lobby of the restaurant, which holds some information board on Gedung Kuning's history and that handsome looking picture of Haji Yusoff.

Afroza's Reflection

Upon receiving this heritage trail as (part of ) an assignment, I was quite excited thinking of all the possible places that I could go on a trail on and learn more about. But when my group drew 'Kampong Glam' as the trail, I was pretty despondent (such a strong emotion, I know!) All I thought of was isn't this the place I always am 'hanging out' at? It's impossible to find anything new about this place alright. But like it has been, history always corrects my knowledge of the past.

Any or rather every prior opinion that I had about Kampong Glam as a historical location changed when I went on this heritage trail. My perspectives of Kampong Glam has more significant insights to it now. When you are there, going through each place, and finding out about the history that took place that those individual place, you are anything but left in awe. It was almost as though you could imagine what it was like at that time, at that exact spot. It also reminded me of perhaps, how ignorant we, unconsciously, may have been - I mean just how many Singaporeans who shop at Arab Street or visit those lanes at Bussorah Street ever stopped and wonder just why are these places called the names they are called? Or even know that at the very streets lanes in front of Sultan Mosque Hajj pilgrims spent their nights away waiting for their buses?

I must say though the trip to the Heritage Center was a unique experience on its own. I could appreciate the efforts that had been made to conserve these buildings and even create 're-creation' to give us the visual display of the past as it was then. However, now that I think about it, could more have been done to promote Kampong Glam as not just a tourist attraction but , to the locals as well , create awareness of its rich histories within the lanes of Arab Street?

However if you were to ask me just how much as the government put in the effort to really conserve the history in that place, I would have to raise doubts on that one. Yes the buildings are still there, the Sultan Mosque is still where it stood, with tourist information guide at the front entrance, the Kedung Kuning is still where it was before, though now turned into a restaurant and efforts have been put in to revamp the buildings and 'beautify' their appearance. However if you realise, and like what my other group members have pointed out in their own reflections as after thoughts, only some really specific places have truly been 'taken care of'. If you were to look at one particular example, Kubor Muslim Cemetery, you would perhaps understand the level of 'conservation' the government has done. The place practically looks abandoned, with just a wall surrounding it. There aren't even proper fencing given, Could you call it negligence in their part because tourists wouldn't really be interested in seeing where people from the past were buried and what sort of history they might have been behind it? I also was told of another reason, which I am not able to provide any evidence to, that perhaps the land that the cemetery sits on is in fact not part of Singapore and it is in fact part of Malaysia. Yet again I must say this is just an after thought of another person's view. But even if that is the case, surely something could have been done to keep the resting places of people in a better condition?

Another thought that was raised in my mind was, was this 'history' that's being put forward to the public's and tourist's eyes a little too 'fabricated'? Only very selected places are considered as 'historical monuments' in Kampong Glam when in fact the entire place enveloped in Arab Street tells us a story of its own.

I wouldn't say I didn't learn anything in this heritage trail. All in all, this was truly a unique experience for me. I got to do it together with a group of people who had shared this journey to the past and back with me. It was fun filled, it was enriching and truly an eye opening trail.

Stopover #1 Malay Heritage Centre

The Malay Heritage Museum sits on the site of Istana Kampung Gelam, loosely translated to Palace of Kampung Gelam. Built by Sultan Hussein Shah in 1819 before being rebuilt into the concrete structure you see today, by his son Sultan Ali Iskandar Shah in 1835. It was designed by George Coleman, the same man that gave us the Old Parliament House, also known as the Arts House and the Armenian. I find it ironic that an ang moh designed a palace that was meant for Malay royalty. I must admit, in my opinion it doesnt look much of a palace. It seems more like a colonial bungalow, rather than a palace meant for Malay royalty.

Within the grounds one can find a Bugis perahhu, probably a testament to the significance of the Bugis people. They hailed from South West Sulawesi and were predominantly traders, seasoned sailors, well renowned for their economic and military might. So much was their might that they were able to stretch their influence to far beyond their heartland. They dominated the Malay Royal Court and formed a large part of the 15^th century Malaccan Sultanate’s mercenaries and navies. It is also said that all Malay sultans can trace their heritage and lineage to the Bugis.

The main building plays host to the Malay Heritage Museum, which consists of 9 galleries spread out within 2 floors. Upon entering the building, one can sense the tremendous amount of history that envelopes the place. Its one of those moments where you'd wish if only its walls could talk, jsut imagine the stories they'd tell.

From Malay keris to the charming films of P Ramlee there were many heritage artifacts, ranging from pre 1819 to the 1970s. Two however caught my eye, a letter by Sir Stamford Raffles and Yusof Ishak's Presidential medallion.

Below shows a document written by Sir Stamford Raffles that was written in Jawi. Jawi is the adaptation of Arabic alphabets for writing the Malay language. I knew he was able to read Jawi and speak Malay, but i did not know that he was able to write it as well. The fact that some ang moh from the Western world knew how to not only read, but also write Jawi greatly impressed me. Plus he had pretty nice handwriting.

Another was Yusoff Ishak’s Presidential Medallion, given to him by the Crown, in recognition to his status as the first Yang-Di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore. It was loaned to the museum by his wife and bore the emblems of the different commonwealth territories of the British Empire at that time.

The Malay Heritage Center, the first stop in our heritage trail of Kampung Gelam, was a fruitful visit for all of us. It provided us with a glimpse of what life was like back then and also the realisation of the depth of heritage and culture of the Malays. Hence it was apt that it served as the starting point for our heritage trail

Stopover #7 Arab Street

Now we enter the street known for its myriad of to-die-for textiles, Arab Street which is now near located next to North Bridge Road. It was a residential place for the Arabs who migrated to Singapore. This street was believed to be where the influence of Middle East came and originated from. Hence, it was named Arab Street. It was the "town centre" and was hence the shopping and trading centre for muslims in Singapore.

The Muslim pilgrims travelling to Mecca also slept in Arab Street before setting off on a large steam ship. As a Muslim, I feel enlightened and somewhat relieved as we now do not have to spend overnights in Kampung Glam or Arab Street anymore while waiting for the airplane (but of course travelling was by ships then – only the more reasons to thank technology!) to take them off to Mecca. We now have the luxury of staying in our own homes the night before.

Nevertheless, the cultural tradition of a large group giving a good farewell for the pilgrims is still present. Prior to setting off, a ‘kenduri’ or a ceremony where relatives gather to offer prayers of safe return and for the pilgrimage to be accepted by God will be held.

We asked another man who worked in a perfume shop near Masjid Sultan and according to him, there was no real owner of Arab Street. The street was mainly owned by the Arabs because they lived there.

The names in Arab Street reflects the cities in different parts of Middle East. For example, Bussorah Street is a city available in Iraq. Its original spelling, however is ‘Basrah’. Kandahar, on the other hand, is a place in Afghanistan. These streets definitely represent the Muslim foreign merchants from the Middle East who came to Singapore.

We were wondering about the items sold here back then. While walking along the street, we noticed shops selling “Sheesha” and assumed that this too was influenced by the foreign merchants from the Middle East, since it is common in Middle East now. Hence, we made the conjecture that the shops back then offered this service but were told otherwise. Back then, it sold textiles and batiks.

Stopover #4 Kandahar Street

Kandahar is a city found in Afghanistan. Evidently, it got its name from there. This also suggests that foreign traders from the Middle East must have settled in Singapore to have a Street named after them. We approached a man who was kind enough to answer some of our questions. From him, we gathered new insights about Arab Street. Although, I’d have to admit, we were taking down notes as he spoke, as if he was a lecturer! Moral of the story : it never hurts to ask!

It was also known from some accounts that Kandahar street was a place where thinkers, philosophers and the well-educated gathered (could this be the reason why the man we approached was so knowledgeable? Hmm.. )

To recreate the atmosphere of Middle East here in Singapore, the streets were named after cities found there. Such as, Kandahar, Bussorah, Muscat.. So basically, we were in mini Middle East, Singapore!


The shops numbered 44 to 54 still have their original architectural designs preserved. The ceilings are dark brown wood. The pattern was the same for all the shophouses mentioned. Not much renovation was done to them and you can see the beautifully, not to mention meticulously carved (a fantastic work of art!!) part above the windows. Instead of the metal window grills we use now, there are the wooden bars made in front of the windows (which I assume was for extra protection for the people living in the houses)

Stopover #3 Pondok Java

Pondok means, hut in malay and Java, well evidently, refers to a race originated from Indonesia, the Javanese. According to a gentleman (who was kind enough to answer the looming questions we had in our heads), Pondok Java was located near Hajjah Fatimah Mosque. This pondok, which original name is Pondok Jawa was used for congregation of the Javenese Muslims, for communal activities.

But in 2004, it was demolished. (which explains why there is no picture of us in front of a Pondok but rather four of us looking lost)

According to the Malay Heritage Centre website, it was deemed structurally unsafe. Back then, this meeting place was famous for dishes like satay (aww, it’s too bad this structure was torn down or else we could have had a taste!) and mee rebus peddlers. Also, the wayang kulit and ketoprak which normally stars human actors or puppeteers were performed for the Javanese royalty.

There were other malay ethnic groups in Singapore like the Baweans, the Bugis in the 1850s but the largest group was made up of the Javanese, hence, came the title “Pondok Java”.

Stopover #6: Bussorah Street

Bussorah Street was said to be named after a city in Iraq, Basra. Along the street, we noticed that the available shops sold things that caters to Javanese influences such as batik designed clothes and handcrafted goods i.e: angklung. Most of this influence can be seen from the shop named 'Malay Art Gallery'.

Another interesting fact we found out about Bussorah Street is how it was a transit area for Indonesians who are carrying out their hajj. This street was a place for pilgrims to sleep and wait for their flight in Singapore.

Stopover #5: Sultan Mosque

The Sultan Mosque, known as Masjid Sultan among the Malay community, was first built in 1824-1826 by Sultan Hussein. and this was how the mosque got its name from. The photo above shows the present mosque built beside the original mosque. It was built by architect Denis Santry in the style of Saracenic and completed in the year 1927.

The most interesting part of Sultan Mosque would be its domes. From afar, you will hardly notice anything special about it. However, upon closer look at the domes (and after reading the information board in the mosquw itself) we realised that the black surface seen on the dome is made out of soy sauce bottles. If you don't find it amazing, we did. It is amazing that soy sauce bottles can be used as part of the mosque's aesthetic and that it is still remaining strong throughout the 83 years. I am still amazed by it up till today.

There is indeed a private royal grave in Sultan Mosque. In fact, many of us probably walked past it without realising the private royal grave. We were not able to access it (doubt anyone else was allowed too) so we decided to take a photo of it from outside:

Stopover #10: Malabar Muslim Jama-ath Mosque

The Malabar Muslim Jama-ath Mosque or otherwise known as Golden Dome Mosque is located at 471 Victoria Street, Singapore 198370. This mosque is built in the traditional Islamic mosque architectural style and is the only mosque in Singapore that is totally managed by the Malabar Muslim Community.

(it's hard to get a full shot of the mosque, as its located beside a bustling road)

The Malabar Muslims are originally from Kerala in India, mainly traders dealing with textiles and jewellery. They settled down in Singapore from the early 19^th century and formed an association called the Malabar Muslim Jama’ath to take care of affairs relating to their community. The association then took up the task of constructing a mosque for of their own. Generous donations from the public help to finance the construction and it was officially opened on 24 Jan 1963 by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Encik Yusoff bin Ishake.

In the 1990s, the Jalan Sultan area underwent redevelopment work and as a result, the mosque has an improved external façade (in 1995). The mosque's walls were originally simply painted but as you can see, it is now tiled with blue and white lapis lazuli tiles to suit the settings of its surroundings.

We found the cemetery at the rear of the building, however the gate to the cemetery was locked. We were unsure if it was permanently closed or because the timing was not right. We did take a peek inside the cemetery, the tombstones there were covered with a cloth, unlike the ones we saw at the Kubor Muslim Cemetery.

The Mosque now and then...

Stopover #11: Alsagoff Arab School

Following our stop over from Malabar Mosque, we headed all the way down the road and towards our next stop - Alsagoff Arab School. I was quite familiar with this place, having studied there for a couple of years myself; so I was looking forward to finding interesting insights of this school.

Alsagoff Arab School, or also known as Madrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah was founded in 1912 by a rich Arab merchant, Syed Mohamed Alsagoff.

And yes, as the name suggests it, it was named after its founder!

It was the first madrasah that was set up in our island then, and it triggered the start of many other madrasahs thereafter. Madrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah was and still is a girls-only school.

Alsagoff Al - Arabiah provides islamic education to its students. It is possible that this school was set up because of the vast spreading of Islam, and Alsagoff, being an arab and a muslim himself, must have seen it as his way of helping the muslim community's, which resided in those streets, learning of the religion. But this is just my own opinion derived from my thoughts you guys!

It is an interesting fact nontheless that now, on top of just providing Islamic education, they also incorporate the normal standard subjects taught in government schools. They definitely have more exams to sit for than us!

The graduates of this madrasah and the 6 others that we have in Singapore, will go on to become Islamic leaders (or Imaans) and even Islamic teachers.

our pretty faces. we still managed a smile!

Stopover #9: Kubor Muslim Cemetery

Kubor Muslim Cemetery is the oldest recorded Malay cemetery in Singapore. It is labeled as the ‘Tombs of the Malayan Princes’ in J.B. Tassin’s map of 1836. Surprisingly, before the heritage trail, we do not know the existence of such a cemetery nor the noble background/origin. We were not even sure if we were at the right place. The cemetery was pretty unkempt and deserted and the tombstones were not arranged in any manner. In addition, we tried to locate a sign or board for information about this cemetery but there was none in sight. This was probably the reason as to why no knew the existence of this tombs of the Malayan princes.

Similarly, we could not gather information on the stonemasons and tomb-carvers from the site. We initially thought they could have been arabs due to the heavy Arabian influence in this area. However, after the lecture, through Dr Lim, mentioning something about the Chinese community involvement in Kampong Glam and further research, we realize that the stonemasons were probably from the Chinese community. This points out the fact that there were some forms of interaction between these two communities even in the early stage of Singapore history.

Stopover #8: North Bridge Road & The Little Shop

North Bridge Road

North Bridge Road was one of the first three streets carved out of jungle and constructed with the help of convict labourers. The North Bridge Road already existed in Lt. Philip Jackson’s Plan of the Town of Singapore in 1823.

Traditional Shophouse @ No.78

The Haji V. Syed Abu Thahir Trading is a traditional shophouse located right at a corner specialize in selling pilgrim items and non-alcoholic perfumes. The shop is packed with all sorts of products that we didn’t know where to start looking. They import and also blend their own perfumes and also supply products such as herbal oil, prayer mats, sandalwood and many other items. It operates as a family business and the current owner took over the shop from his grandfather in the 1980s. I believed that they are perhaps the only shop that specializes in selling these products especially the Ayurveda Herbal Oil. Although the shop was not located in a prominent area, the shop enjoys a small but constant flow of customers. (Perhaps because there were so many of us, making the shop looked very packed haha)

Final Stopover #12: Hajjah Fatimah Mosque

This was the last stop of our heritage trail; and I shall be honest, we were all really tired nearing the end. But as they say, or at least what I believe, history has its ways of surprising and keeping us at our heels even till the last minute with the stories it holds.

So there we were, still as enthusiastic as we were when we start the trail, and headed towards Hajjah Fatimah Mosque. It was not that far nor difficult to locate; almost a stone's throw away from Madrasah Al-Arabiah.

The Hajjah Fatimah Mosque, named after its founder, Hajjah Fatimah, was built in 1845 – 1846. The mosque is in fact the only local mosque that is named after a woman! A Malaccan born Malay, Hajjah Fatimah was married to a wealthy Bugis Sultan. She had donated money to build the mosque at the same place her home stood, after it was robbed a couple of times.

It is believed that she is buried in the mosque, although this fact I couldn’t confirm as I did not look for a burial site in the mosque and only managed to chance upon this when researching for more information on the mosque.

The most interesting aspect of the mosque for me was its architectural designs and styles. If you took a trip down there, you'ld notice just how different it really is. Its designs are none like the typical mosques you would come across our island. You could see a blend of the different cultural influences, both the East and the West, especially touches of European style, when you looked at the structures of the mosque.

The mosque was in fact designed by an English architect, John Turnbull Thomson, whom when I googled up, apparently had designed the previous St. Andrew's Catheral Building as well. You can see this upon entering the mosque itself!

See how the design on the top of the entrance is similar to that of designs inspired by the Chinese culture. The main prayer hall of the mosque was also rebuilt by a French contractor, Bossard Mopin, using Malay artisans.

What's really special about this mosque would be one particular feature, that you may look past, unless you, pay close attention to details. The minaret, (which is the tall pointed structure at the left side of the picture below, - afternote; our photography skills fail), is in fact slightly tilted - the tilt's very subtle but you will be able to see it after close observation! So you guys, we have got our own 'leaning tower'!