- Address: Arab Street (starts at Rochor Canal Rd and ends at Beach Rd)
- Sightseeing: Sultan's Mosque, Hajj Fatima Mosque, Malabar Mosque, Cultural Heritage Center of the Malayan People
The Arab Quarter in Singapore (Kampong Glam) is the Muslim center of the city, located to the east of the colonial center. Once Kampong Glam was a fishing village - actually, the very word "kampung" in Malay means "village", "village", and "gelam" is a tree whose bark served for konopachnoy boats. However, even at the beginning of the XIX century, this place underwent intensive construction - here the local aristocracy actively began to settle. Of course, it was here that the residence of the Sultan was located.
The quarter became one of the first well-organized ethnic areas of the state, along with the Chinese and Indian quarters . The Arab community quickly formed here, which remained the most numerous, despite the fact that here settled and immigrants from China and India. So the quarter and got the name "Arabic". However, now it is one of the smallest areas of the city.
Arab Quarter today
Today, the Arab Quarter, like two hundred years ago, is a trading district. Popularly, it was called the "textile district" thanks to literally flooding its diverse shops and one of the largest markets in Singapore , where traders offer their visitors fabrics, carpets, fittings and clothing; you can buy here and precious, and semiprecious stones, headgear, Arabic essential oils and perfumes, cooked on their basis. In addition, in some shops you can make up your own flavor - naturally, with the help of a consultant. The highest quality Indonesian batik can be bought in one of the oldest shops - Basharahil House of Batik. Street Haji Lane - the center of youth design in Singapore, there are many showrooms of young local designers.
Almost all the buildings here are two- or three-storeyed; on the ground floors there are shops, small cafes and restaurants, where you can tasty and inexpensive snack . The quarter has been restored, many houses have graffiti, so you will enjoy just strolling slowly along the streets. And then you can go shopping. By the way, shops and restaurants on Friday can be closed - on this day Muslims go to mosques and spend time in prayers.
The main attractions of the quarter
The main attraction of Kampong Glam is the Sultan's mosque , or Sultan Hussein's mosque, named after the first sultan of Singapore. It was erected in 1928 on the site of an old mosque, which stood here for about 100 years and became decayed. The basement of the massive golden dome of the mosque is made of bottoms of glass bottles in memory of the fact that for the collection of funds for the construction of the mosque the Muslims of the city handed over bottles. One of the main features of the mosque is a magnificent carpet on the floor - a gift from the Prince of Saudi Arabia. The mosque is operational.
The Hajj Fatima Mosque is remarkable for the combination of Arab and European architecture; It was built in 1846 by architect John Thornbull Thomson. In July 1973, the mosque was declared a national monument. It was named after a local aristocrat who gave her site for the construction of the mosque after her house had a fire twice. Her grave, as well as the grave of her daughter and son-in-law, is at the base of the structure. The mosque is known for its "falling minaret" - the architect Thomson was crazy about the Tower of Pisa and designed a minaret similar to this Italian landmark. Visit to the mosque for free.
The Malabar Mosque is the only Malabar mosque in Singapore. Its construction continued from 1956 to 1962; the duration of construction is associated with a lack of funds - for a while it was suspended, but then thanks to donations, and not only from the Muslims, it was finally brought to the end. The mosque is active, on Friday and on religious holidays, believers gather here. Inside there are a room for studying the Koran, an imam room, a food preparation room, visitor rooms and a main prayer hall, which is surrounded on three sides by two-story open galleries.
The Center of Cultural Heritage of the Malayan People was located in the former Sultan palace-istane, belonging to the last Singapore sultan - Ali Iskander Saah. Even after the colonization of Singapore by Great Britain, the family of the former Sultan continued to live in the Kampong Glam palace - according to the signed agreement, and even after it was abolished in 1897. The Sultan's heirs left the city only in 1999 (for the loss of the palace they were paid monetary compensation), but by this time the building was almost in ruins. It was reconstructed in 2004, now it is a museum open to visitors. The architect of the palace is supposedly J. Colman. The territory still operates the sports club "Kota Raja Club", founded by one of the descendants of the last sultan.
Another attraction is the school of Al-Sagof . This is the first school for girls and the first Muslim school in the city; it was built in 1912 by the means of the merchant philanthropist Al-Saghof and named in his honor.
Food
In Kampong Glam is a mass of cafes and restaurants, offering its visitors a wide variety of dishes. It is necessary to try Marbak - an Arabian pie of a square shape, the filling of which can be very diverse - from meat to sweet. And, of course, here you can taste coffee in Arabic, te-tarik - tea with milk, as well as hummus, rendang (meat with spices), ikan bakar (fried fish on open fire), sajor lode (vegetable mix in coconut sauce ) and a variety of kebabs.
How to get to Kampong Glam?
Take the metro to Bugis station and walk a short walk to Lane or to the Sultan Mosque.
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