Georgetown in Penang, Malaysia
Malaysia's Richest Port and Fascinating Mix of Many Cultures
Georgetown, on the Malaysian Island of Penang, was perhaps the only really multi-racial society in Asia and its ecletic architecture and religious houses display this.
The old city of Georgetown on the island of Penang, is Malaysia’s richest port. It offers a fascinating mix of cultures , obvious from the number of mosques, churches and Sino-temples all operating in the same area. In fact, Penang was probably the only really multi-racial society in Asia as Chinese, Europeans, Sumatrans and Malays lived together on the same streets. Walking the narrow alleys and lanes of the older part of the city offers the visitor a history lesson with a difference.
Georgetown was named by the British after King George III, and is the capital city of Penang Province. It was founded in the late 18th century as the first Far Eastern trading post for the British, on a Penang that was all but uninhabited. It quickly became an economically thriving duty-free port, attracting over 10,000 settlers in just a few decades, Malays, Sumatrans, Indians, Chinese and the Dutch.
As the merchants from Singapore and Malacca built their holiday homes towards the end of the 19th century, they built in a mix of architectural styles, neo-classical and Victorian, Indian style bungalows, Malay kampong-style houses and all overlaid with Chinese décor. It is one of the few cities in Asia where the architecture has mostly remained as it was, although this is changing fast.
Old men playing Mahjong in their century old shophouses on Muntri Street, many of them direct descendants of former owners, are doing just what their ancestors did, Love Lane supposedly gets its name from the fact that the wealthy English and Chinese merchants kept their mistresses here. In historic Acheen Street is the house in which Sun Yat-sen planned the Canton uprising and houses of the old Muslim spice traders with their Moorish courtyards.
Some of the historic sights that Georgetown has to offer:-
1) One of the most beautiful mansions to visit is the Cheong Fatt Tze, a typical 18th/19th century example of Chinese architecture which has a rare porcelain collection, sculptures, carvings and embroideries. Inside the house, beautiful bedrooms, libraries, courtyards and gardens are protected by heavy wooden doors.
2). Fort Cornwallis in the heart of Georgetown which today functions as an open-air amphitheatre and history gallery. The old Dutch cannon that arrived in Malaysia in 1606 has a long history associated with Peninsula Malaysia’s political alliances over the centuries.
3). St. George’s Church in Farquhar Street was built in 1818 by convict labour and is one of the oldest in the country.
4). The Jubilee Clock on Jalan Tun Syed stands 60 feet high, one for each year of Queen Victoria’s reign it is said, and was a gift from a local millionaire to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
5). Goddess of Mercy Temple on Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling, built in 1800 by the early Chinese settlers is one of the oldest Chinese temples in PenangIt is especially interesting for the intricately crafted dragons and stone lions that adorn it.
6) Little India and the Jewish Quarter will take a whole day to explore.
Penang has an agreeable climate, warm and humid all year round with no seasons and average temperatures of 27/28 degrees. In the search for history it would be a shame if the visitor omitted to make time to walk along Georgetown’s popular waterfront promenade towards the Padang, a large square of green grass, and to enjoy some of the food from the hawkers stalls at one end of the Esplanade before stopping to view the 19th century City Hall, an excellent example of British Palladian architecture, now a cultural venue.
