Tuesday, December 27, 2011

THE MOST NOSTALGIC PLACE TO TAKE PICTURE IN MELAKA

Tourist from Japan visiting Rumah Melaka and took picture of it and it's unique "Tangga Batu".

These scenario were famous even during the last 60's and 70's where several buses arrange by tour agents brings dozens of foreign tourist visiting Traditional Rumah Melaka, sometime even up to 10 buses stop at several places of these traditional Rumah Melaka per day for a visit and they took a lot of pictures. They usually stay there for the visit for almost an hour ...
The famous routes were along Jalan Melaka -Muar, where many traditional Rumah Melaka can be seen along the road, especially in Umbai, and Serkam area...!!

Even by today, we must also promote these type of promotion and make it a tradition of visiting Melaka and took picture of Rumah Melaka and it's unique "Tangga Batu"......



2. Victoria Fountain, at "Dutch Square" or "Melaka Red Square"







1. Take a picture at "TANGGA BATU" at Rumah Melaka.

Monday, December 26, 2011

COLLECTION OF " ROCK STAIRS" or TANGGA BATU RUMAH MELAKA

































Melaka traditional house with it's famous unique form of the stairs called "ROCK STAIRS" or "TANGGA BATU"made of bricks and concrete. The stairs structure have some of Chinese architecture with unique and colourful tiles design which is imported from Europe, Holland, Japan and China.


The use of colourful tiles design shows that the influence of Malay, Chinese and European cultural mix and this has make it an identity of a Malay house like the "tangga batu" of "Rumah Melaka".


Various stair designs and styles exist in this architecture with the touch of local expert craftmanships during that time. The stairs also represents the status of the owner of the house during those days. The rich usually use expensive tiles imported from European or China.




Tangga rumah tradisional Melaka sememangnya terkenal dengan ciri binaannya yang diperbuat
dari batuan konkrit. Struktur tangga ini bercirkan senibina dari negara China dengan dihiasi jubin-jubin (
tiles) yang berwarna warna yang dimport dari Eropah seperti Holland dan Jepun.

Penggunaan jubin-jubin yang berwarna-warni ini menampakkan pertembungan budaya Melayu, China dan Eropah, dan ciri inilah yang menjadi identiti utama senibina rumah Melayu Melaka.

Pelbagai variasi tangga yang wujud dalam senibina ini dengan sentuhan tukang-tukang rumah yang mahir pada zaman tradisi. Tangga juga melambangkan status penghuninya suatu masa dahulu.

Hang Tuah Well(Perigi Hang Tuah)








Hang Tuah was brought up in Kampong Duyong just 5 kilometers away along with his four good friends, Hang Jebat, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekir and Hang Lekiu, who were also warriors in the Sultan’s court. Being the Sultan’s favourite, Hang Tuah’s loyalty and determination to the Sultan is unquestionable.

The story of the ultimate Malacca warrior, Hang Tuah, is the stuff of legends. Faithfully serving Sultan Mansur back in the 15th century, this infamous historical figure had an exemplary record of achievements, which include successfully warding off advances from Siam and Acheh, and a winning duel with Taming Sari, a warrior from the court of Majapahit.

The Hang Tuah well is located in the town of his birthplace, Kampung Duyung. According to folklore, the great man himself had dug the well for his own personal use. After he had passed away, it is said that the well has become the dwelling of his spirit, which took on the form of a white crocodile. It is also believed that the albino crocodile cannot be seen by just anyone; only the holy and the pure-hearted ever get the opportunity to catch a glimpse of it.

Another mystical aspect to the Hang Tuah well is that its water remains clear even after all these years, which is said to never dry up, even during long periods of drought. The locals believe that the well’s water contains special healing properties, able to cure all sorts of ailments. It was also said that the well used to be much smaller in size originally, and that it had grown over time.

St Paul Church, 1553




Built by a Portuguese captain by it name of Duarte Coetho, the chapel wi turned by the Dutch into a burial ground for their noble dead and renamed it 'St. Paul's Church from the Portuguese's "Our Lady Of The Hill".

St. Francis Xavier was briefly enshrined in the open grave in 1553 before being shipped to Goa, India.

St. Francis Xavier's Church, 1574





St. Francis Xavier, the great missionary to the East, arrived in Malacca in 1545 and served the sick and the children there. He left shortly afterwards, but came back to the town in 1547, when a military victory was attributed to him. He travelled to many countries and stopped by Malacca whenever he was around the region. His fame spread far throughout Asia.

In 1574, the saint died in a ship before he could reach China, a place that he was anxious to Christianize. People found his body perfectly incorrupt, and sailed it to Malacca. People in Malacca were in deep mourning at the funeral. On the day of the funeral, the saint, after his life on earth, performed a miracle and stopped a plague that had been causing many deaths every day.

The body of St. Francis Xavier was later shipped to Goa in India, after parts of the relics were stolen or taken by different people. Today, most of his remains still rests in the Basilica of Bom-Jesus in Old Goa. He is the patron of the Indies and is called "the apostle of the East".

The present St. Francis Xavier Church was completed in 1856.

Portuguese Square


Built in 1984, the Portuguese Square will remind you of a tiny town in Portugal. The square is a great place for relaxation and dining. There are restaurants, food stalls, pubs and a mini-museum.

Towards the evenings on most weekends, you will see plenty of visitors and tourists packing the pubs for food, concerts, and traditional Portuguese dances (performed on Saturday evening, weather permitting). It is a colourful and fun place to be!

Melaka Sultanate Palace



Malacca Sultanate Palace is an exquisite piece of Malay architecture and is a replica of the original 15th century palace of Malacca's extinct Sultanate. The palace is built based on sketches found in the ancient Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals). This wooden replica of the Sultan's palace houses the Malacca Cultural Museum.

Facing the palace is the Historic City Memorial Garden. An intriguing monument to commemorate the declaration of Malacca as a Historic City is the showpiece of this garden. The monument is topped with a replica of a Malay royal headress, a symbol of Malaysians' allegiance to the throne.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christ Church, 1753




Situated near Jalan Laksamana and Jalan Gereja in Melaka city.

This is a churh built in 1753 by Dutch to commemorate a century of their rule. It is reputed as the oldest protestant church in Malaysia. It is now an Anglican Church.

The building shows the ingenuity of the Dutch architectural world. The beams were constructed from cutting and carving from a single tree and have no joints. The hand-made pews dated back some 200 years. The altar is a beautiful piece of the 'Last Supper' done in glazed tiles.