Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
131
1820s; ho wever, N agoreallauddeen, who is the 15th descendant of the holy man for
whom the shrine is named, claims it was built many y ears before. According to Nagore-
allauddeen, the shrine was first built out of wood and attap (a thatch r oof made from a
type of palm), and later , in 1815, was r ebuilt from limestone, 4 y ears before the arrival
of Sir Stamford Raffles. In 1818, rebuilding materials were imported from India to con-
struct the present shrine. Note: The shrine has been closed for r enovation but is due to
reopen in summer 2009.
140 Telok Ayer St., at the c orner of Telok Ayer St. and Boon Tat St. 15-min. walk from either Raffles Place
or Tanjong Pagar MRT.
Sacred Buddha Tooth Temple Allow at least an hour and a half to appreciate
this huge temple, which was founded in 2002. B uilt in the Tang Dynasty style, this is
actually a Chinese cultural center , encompassing, among other things, a temple, a
museum and r eference librar y, a theater , a dining hall pr oviding fr ee meals, and, of
course, the magnificent r eliquary that gives the temple its name. The best place to star t
is in the huge 100 D ragons Hall on the first floor, where services dedicated to the M ai-
treya B uddha take place, with a fur ther hall behind celebrating the A valokitesvara
Bodhisattva. I'd then take the elev ator (lined with gold-embroidered fabric) to the thir d
story, where a nicely laid-out museum examines the life of the B uddha and explains the
role of the futur e Maitreya Buddha and the Bodhisattv a Avalokitesvara, the representa-
tion of Kindness and Compassion. The sacred tooth itself is on the fourth floor, encased
in a magnificent golden stupa, which itself sits on a (presumably reinforced) floor of pure
gold tiles. The stupa depicts the 35 B uddhas who hav e achiev ed enlightenment and
nirvana, surrounding the serene figure of the M aitreya Buddha who is guar ded by four
lions. The stupa is unv eiled from 9am to noon and 3 to 6pm daily . A staircase leads to
the lovely roof garden (there is a stairlift, if required) where the world's largest enameled
prayer wheel turns slowly in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pavilion. Still not enough Bud-
dhas for y ou? There are another 12,000 in the galleries outside the pavilion. These are
dedicated to the B uddha of Longevity. For S$68 (US$46/£31) a y ear, you can light up
one of these tiny figures and help to negate all the bad karma created since the beginning
of time. O r you could spend S$2 (US$1.35/90p) to sponsor a v ery tangible v egetarian
meal, distributed from the basement dining hall.
288 South Bridge Rd . & 65/6220-0220. www.btrts.org.sg. Free admission. Daily 4:30am-9pm. 5-min.
walk from Chinatown MRT.
Singapore City G allery This enormous exhibit is perhaps of r eal interest only to
Singaporeans and civil planners, but if you're in the neighborhood, it's worth a pop inside
to see the giant wooden plan of the city in miniatur e that sits on the right side of the
lobby. If you have time, sift thr ough 48 permanent exhibits and 25 interactiv e displays
that paint a historical picture of the development of urban Singapore.
URA Centre, 45 Maxwell Rd. & 65/6321-8321. www.ura.gov.sg. Free admission. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; Sat
9am-1pm. 10-min. walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT.
7
Sri Mariamman Hindu Temple As the oldest H indu temple in S ingapore, S ri
Mariamman has been the central point of Hindu tradition and culture. In its early years,
the temple housed new immigrants while they established themselv es and also served as
social center for the community. Today the main celebration here is the Thimithi Festival
in O ctober or N ovember (see chapter 3). The shrine is dedicated to the goddess S ri
Mariamman, who is known for curing disease (a very important goddess to have around
in those days), but as is the case at all other Hindu temples, the entire pantheon of Hindu
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