World Heritage City

Was on a short break and recently visited a few cities in Peninsular Malaysia. The first destination was Malacca, the World Heritage City. Going to this city will make anyone think of its renowned history which was once controlled by Portugal, Netherlands and Britain.

A must visit site is A Famosa, a Portuguese fortress which means "The Famous" in Portuguese. The fortress was built in 1511. The only remaining part is Porta de Santiago, a small gate house.

Porta de Santiago

On a hill behind the A Famosa is St Francis Xavier Church. There are some gravestones in it. It was built in 1849.

Part of the church seen from the bottom of the hill.

Another historical site is the red buildings, The Stadhuys, reflecting Dutch architecture and built in 1650 as a residence to Dutch Governor and his deputy. Originally, it was painted white. Now, it is the Museum of History and Ethnology.

A tourist attraction, the beautifully decorated bicycle rickshaw in front of The Stadhuys. My mom was sitting in it.

It won't be complete without including the British architecture. This beautiful building is now a Memorial Museum.

Another tourist attraction is the Maritime Museum. I took this picture from Taming Sari Tower at a height of 280 feet.

                          This is part of what was written on a slate at the museum's entrance.

Maritime Museum

This museum is the model of a Portuguese Galleon reminds us of the ship "Flora De La Mar". It exhibits the maritime history of Malacca during several eras : The Famed Malay Sultanate Era from the 15th century to 1511; The Portuguese Era 1511 - 1641; The Dutch Era 1641 - 1795; The British Era 1795 - 1941; The Japanese Era 1941 - 1945; and again The British Era 1945 -1957; and The Malaysia Independence Era 1957 to date.

Herein lies in the cargo hold invaluable treasures of the nation taken away by the colonial masters after they had captured Malacca in 1511. The ship sank on January 26, 1512 in the Straits of Malacca on her voyage to Europe.

It had been an enjoyable and interesting trip for me. For awhile, when looking at the architecture of the buildings, I felt I was somewhere in Europe.

I will post some more photos. Stay tuned!

Source (for some facts) : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malacca

All photos were taken by yours truly. I didn't watermark the photos.