Malacca

Opulent facade


I visited the old town of Malacca last 2 weeks.

Malacca is the birth place of the malay sultanate of Malaysia. From here Malaysia became popular during the 14th century. It grows from a small fishing village to an important stopping-point of sea-trade

It was occupied by Alfonso d'Albuquerque in 1511 and became a strategic base for Portuguese expansion in East Indies.
By 1641, the Portuegese was defeated by the Dutch.
By 1824, Malacca was ceded to the British by the Dutch.
Even the Chinese emperor sent the princess to be married with the local malay sultan.

The city was so coveted by the European powers that the Portuguese writer Barbarosa wrote, "Whoever is Lord in Malacca has his hand on the throat of Venice"

There is still a Eurasian minority of semi-Portuguese descent in Malacca, who speak an ancient Portuguese creole called Cristao, who are also simply known as Português de Malaca or Papia Kristang.

Malacca has the most pre-war buildings in the region and the old town are consisting of century old buildings, and narrow roads as seen in the picture.

Dutch Cathedral, Portuguese Fort, English Church, Chinese Temple, Indian Temple, Muslim Mosque, Straits-Chinese houses rub shoulders with the world's largest chinese cemetery outside china and ancient tomb of Malay's heroes. Malacca is truly one of the world's earliest melting pot.