Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BABA-NONYA HERITAGE MUSEUM
MUSEUM
( 283 1273; 48-50 Jln Tun Tan Cheng Lock; adult/child RM15/7; 10am-12.30pm & 2-4.30pm Wed-Mon)
Touring this traditional Peranakan townhouse takes you back to a time when women hid
behind elaborate partitions when guests dropped by, and every social situation had its spe-
cific location within the house. The captivating museum is arranged to look like a typical
19th-century Baba-Nonya residence. The highlight is the tour guides, who tell tales of the
past with a distinctly Peranakan sense of humour.
8 HEEREN STREET
(8 Jln Tun Tan Cheng Lock; 11am-4pm Tue-Sat)
F
This 18th-century Dutch-period residential
house was restored as a model conservation project. The project was partially chronicled
in the beautifully designed coffee-table book
Voices from the Street,
which is for sale at
the house along with other titles. You can also pick up an
Endangered Trades: A Walking
Tour of Malacca's Living Heritage
(RM5) booklet and map for an excellent self-guided
tour of the city centre.
HISTORIC BUILDING
CHENG HOON TENG TEMPLE
(Qing Yun Ting or Green Clouds Temple; 25 Jln Tokong Emas; 7am-7pm)
Malaysia's oldest traditional
Chinese temple (dating from 1646) remains a central place of worship for the Buddhist
community in Melaka. Notable for its carved woodwork, the temple is dedicated to Kuan
Yin, the goddess of mercy. Across the street from the main temple is a
traditional opera
theatre
.
CHINESE TEMPLE
MASJID KAMPUNG HULU
(cnr Jln Masjid & Jln Kampung Hulu)
This is the oldest functioning mosque in Malaysia and was,
surprisingly, commissioned by the Dutch in 1728. The mosque is made up of predomin-
antly Javanese architecture with a multitiered roof in place of the standard dome; at the
time of construction, domes and minarets had not yet come into fashion.
MOSQUE
KAMPUNG KLING MOSQUE
(Jln Tokong Emas)
This hoary mosque has a multitiered
meru
roof (a stacked form similar to
that seen in Balinese Hindu architecture), which owes its inspiration to Hindu temples,
and a Moorish watchtower minaret typical of early mosques in Sumatra.
MOSQUE
