Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
PORTA DE SANTIAGO
(A'Famosa; Jln Bandar Hilir)
A quick photo stop at this fort, built by the Portuguese in 1511, is a
must. The Dutch were busy destroying the bulk of the fort when Sir Stamford Raffles
came by in 1810 and saved what remains today.
In 2006 work on the Menara Taming Sari revolving tower uncovered another part of the
famous wall. The revolving tower was relocated further inland, the remains of the fortress
walls were reconstructed and they are now home to the 13-metre high
Melaka Malay Sultanate
Water Wheel
replica. The original wheel would have been used to channel the river waters
for the large number of traders swarming Melaka during the 15th and 16th centuries.
RUIN
ST PAUL'S CHURCH
(Jln Kota)
St Paul's Church is a breezy sanctuary reached after a steep flight of stairs. Ori-
ginally built by a Portuguese captain in 1521, the church offers views over Melaka from
the summit of Bukit St Paul. The church was regularly visited by St Francis Xavier, and
following his death in China the saint's body was temporarily interred here for nine
months before being transferred to Goa, where it remains today. Visitors can look into his
ancient tomb (surrounded by a wire fence) in the centre of the church, and a marble statue
of the saint gazes wistfully over the city.
When the Dutch completed their own Christ Church in 1590 at the base of the hill, St
Paul's fell into disuse. Under the British a lighthouse was built and the church eventually
ended up as a storehouse for gunpowder. The church has been in ruins for more than 150
years.
RUIN
SULTANATE PALACE
(Jln Kota; admission RM3; 9am-6pm)
Housing a cultural museum, this wooden replica of the
palace of Mansur Shah, the famous sultan who ruled Melaka from 1456 to 1477, is based
on descriptions of the original palace from
Sejarah Melayu
(Malay Annals; a chronicle of
the establishment of the Malay sultanate and 600 years of Malay history), and is built en-
tirely without nails.
MUSEUM
MARITIME MUSEUM & NAVAL MUSEUM
(Jln Quayside; admission RM5; 9am-5.30pm Sun-Thu, to 9pm Fri & Sat)
Housed in a huge re-creation
of the
Flor de la Mar,
a Portuguese ship that sank off the coast of Melaka, the Maritime
MUSEUM
