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'!