Admiral Cheng Ho - (Zheng He The Explorer)

Admiral Cheng Ho

Zheng He (Cheng Ho)  is best known for his voyages to the Middle East and Africa, and across Southeast Asia while climbing in rank from a captured servant to one of his nation's most trusted statesmen. He was born in 1371 in what is now China's Yunnan province during the reign of the Ming Dynasty. Like his father and grandfather, he was a Muslim.

And his great-great-great-grandfather was a Persian who served at the top ranks of the Mongolian Empire and as a governor under the Yuan Dynasty. Zheng He's father was killed when the Ming Dynasty sought to destroy remnants of the Yuan era, and Zheng He was captured, castrated and brought to Beijing. There he served in the palace of Prince Zhu Di, a son of the Ming Dynasty's founder. Zheng He quickly gained the prince's trust in the course of several battles and campaigns across China as a bodyguard and informal adviser.

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Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Temple

Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Temple-Malacca

The Chettiar community from South India were profoundly involved in the construction of Hindu temples, especially dedicated to their loving Vinayagar. As mercantile tradesmen, they travelled the world, but also brought along their worship of Lord Vinayagar to Malacca. Located at Jalan Tukang Emas, Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Malaysia, built in 1781. This street is called Harmony Street because of the close proximity of holy sanctuaries of different religions in this area. The sanctuaries here are the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, the Kampung Kling’s Mosque and the Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Temple. The temple was built a land donated by Kapitan Thaivanayagam Chitty, a distinguished Indian resident residing in Malacca. As many Hindu ancestors from Malacca had a close association with this temple, that bond has been reinforced over time, creating a strong connection with the Hindu families residing in Malacca. 


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Bukit Cina- Melaka

Bukit Cina - Malacca

Bukit Cina is the ancestral burial ground of Malacca’s Chinese community. Also known as Chinese Hill, it is the largest and oldest Chinese graveyard outside of China itself with over 12,500 graves. Although it is primarily a graveyard for early Chinese settlers, the cemetery has about 20 Muslim tombs, too.

The oldest grave in Bukit Cina is that of Tin Kap, the first Chinese kapitan (a mediatory position created by the Dutch East India Company which made it possible for them to rule the various ethnic communities). These days the 20ha hill is chiefly used as a jogging track.

According to the Malay Annals, Bukit Cina was a marriage gift from Sultan Mansur Syah (ruler of the Malacca Sultanate) to Princess Hang Li Poh from China.  After Princess Hang Li Poh had converted to Islam, Sultan Mansur Syah married her and ordered a palace to be built at Bukit Cina for his wife and her entourage that followed her from China. They stayed in this Chinese settlement until the Portuguese invaded in 1511. The Chinese community eventually grew into a class of straits-born Chinese known as the Peranakan. The Portuguese once built a Franciscan chapel on the hill dedicated to “Madre de Deus” (Mother of God) but the chapel was destroyed during the Achinese attack in Melaka  in 1629.

 

 

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Cheng Hoon Teng Temple

 

 

 

 

Cheng Hoon Teng Temple-Melaka

 Cheng Hoon Teng Temple is one of the most notable landmarks in Malacca. Set near the Hindu temple Sri Pogyatha Vinoyagar along Jalan Hang Lekiu (in Jonker Street) this Chinese temple is billed as the oldest Buddhist place of worship in the country. Built in 1646, it is also known as the ‘Merciful Cloud Temple’. The temple is dedicated to Kuan Yin, Goddess of Mercy. A black, gold and red-robed statue of the goddess stands in the central prayer hall. Cheng Hoon Teng temple was constructed by Chan Lak Koa, son-in-law to Captain Li, Malacca’s second Chinese kapitan (a mediatory position created by the Dutch East India Company which made it possible for a non-white to govern Malacca’s diverse ethnic communities.)

Apparently a fortune teller was consulted for advice on the location and construction of Captain Li’s grave: allegedly a grave deeper than three feet would benefit Li’s son-in-law, Chan Lak Koa, while a shallower grave would bring prosperity to his son. Whether intended or not, the grave was made three-and-a-half feet deep, and Chan Lak Koa’s relative success after his father-in-law’s death motivated him to construct the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple as an expression of gratitude for his success.

 

 

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Masjid Kg Keling

Masjid Kampung Keling

The Masjid Kampong Kling, built in 1748, is one of the oldest mosques in Malaysia. The mosque is located on Malacca's busy north-south running Jalan Hang Lekiu, on the corner of Jalan Tanjong, or Temple Street, both filled with Chinese shop-houses. However, when Masjid Kampong Kling was erected, the neighborhood of Kampong Kling, which runs along the coast to the west of the Malacca River, was still primarily inhabited by South Indians or Klings. The multiple styles revealed in this mosque attest to the synchratic building tradition that flourished in Malacca, a major trading port in the fourteenth through the eighteenth centuries.

Like most Southeast Asian mosques, Masjid Kampong Kling is built on a square plan rather than the rectangular or hexagonal plan of most Middle Eastern mosques. Corinthian columns both define the arcaded verandah that wraps around the prayer hall and also separate the minbar space from the central prayer hall within the mosque.

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Flor De La Mar

Flor De La Mar-Replica-Maritime Museum

 Located along Jalan Quayside in the St Paul's Hill area, the Maritime Museum is housed in a replica of the Flor de la Mar, A Portuguese vessel that sank off the Malacca Coast.

The museum traces the history of Malacca from the Sultanate of Malacca in the Fourteenth century to the pre independence era. Inside the museum are models of ships, authentic maps, old iron chests and charts.

The Flor do Mar was built in Lisbon in 1502, being one of the finest vessels of the time. It was built for the Portuguese India run. At 400 tons, it was the largest carrack yet built, nearly twice the size of the largest ships that had gone on previous runs.

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