Melaka - Malaysia

[neversaynever]

Not a very big city but is a historical city in Malaysia that worth sharing with all of us here.

Before sharing the photos, let me share some info about Melaka.

Source from Wikimedia

The state of Melaka covers an area of 1,650-sq. km. or 1.3 percent of the whole area of Malaysia. The state is divided into 3 districts, that is Central Melaka (Melaka Tengah) (314 km²), Alor Gajah (660 km²), and Jasin (676 km²).
Malacca is located on the southwestern coast of Malay Peninsula opposite Sumatra, with the state of Negeri Sembilan to the north and Johor to the east. Malacca is also situated roughly two-thirds of the way down the West coast, 148 km south of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia and 245 km north of Singapore and commanding a central position on the Straits of Malacca. The state capital Malacca Town is strategically located between the two national capitals (of Malaysia and Singapore respectively) and is linked with excellent roads and highways. Malacca itself is yet to have its own train station, though the terminal at Tampin, Negeri Sembilan is easily accessible. It has a domestic airport terminal located in Batu Berendam.

Sultanate of Malacca
The precise origins of Malacca are disputed. It appears that Malacca was founded by Parameswara, a Srivijayan prince of Palembang who fled Sumatra following a Majapahit attack in 1377. He found his way to Malacca c. 1400 where he found a good port accessible in all seasons and on the strategically located narrowest point of the Malacca Straits.
According to a popular legend, Parameswara was resting under a tree near a river while hunting, when one of his dogs cornered a mouse deer. In self-defence, the mouse deer pushed the dog into the river. Impressed by the courage of the deer, and taking it as a propitious omen of the weak overcoming the powerful, Parameswara decided on the spot to found an empire on the very place that he was sitting. He named it 'Melaka' after the tree under which he had taken shelter. Another version of the story says that Parameswara chose the name 'Malacca' from the Tamil word 'mallakka' which means upside down or on ones back. Old illustrations of the scene where the mousedeer kicks the dog shows the dog falling on its back into the river, hence the inspiration. Parameswara converted to Islam in 1414 and changed his name to 'Raja Iskandar Shah'.
In collaboration with allies from the sea-people (orang laut) the wandering proto-Malay privateers of the Straits, he established Malacca as major international port by compelling passing ships to call there, and establishing fair and reliable facilities for warehousing and trade. Mass settlement of Chinese, mostly from the imperial and merchant fleet occurred during the reign of Parameswara, occurred in the vicinity of the Bukit China ("Chinese Hill") area, which had among the best Feng Shui (geomancy) in Malacca then. Sultan Iskandar Shah died in 1424, and was succeeded by his son, Sri Maharaja also called Sultan Muhammad Shah.
The prosperity of Malacca attracted the invasion of the Siamese. Attempts in 1446 and 1456, however, were warded off by Tun Perak, the then Bendahara (a position similar to Prime Minister). The development of relations between Malacca and China was at that time a strategic decision to ward off further Siamese attacks.
Because of its strategic location, Malacca was an important outpost for Zheng He's spectacular exploration fleet. To enhance relations, Hang Li Po, allegedly a princess of the Ming Emperor of China, arrived in Malacca, accompanied by 500 attendants, to marry Sultan Manshur Shah who reigned from 1456 until 1477. Her attendants married the locals and settled mostly in Bukit China (Bukit Cina).(See Zheng He in Malacca).
A cultural result of the vibrant trade was the expansion of the Peranakan people, who spread to other major settlements in the region.
During its heyday Malacca was a powerful Sultanate which extended its rule over the southern Malay Peninsula and much of Sumatra. Its rise helped to hold off the Thai's southwards encroachment and arguably hasten the decline of the rival Majapahit Empire of Java which was in decline as Malacca was rising. Malacca was also central in the spread of Islam in the Malay Archipelago.

European colonization
In April 1511, Afonso de Albuquerque set sail from Goa to Malacca with a force of some 1200 men and seventeen or eighteen ships. It became a strategic base for Portuguese expansion in the East Indies. Sultan Mahmud Shah, the last Sultan of Malacca took refuge in the hinterland, and made intermittent raids both by land and sea, causing considerable hardship for the Portuguese. Finally in 1526, a large force of Portuguese ships, under the command of Pedro Mascarenhas, was sent to destroy Bintan, where Sultan Mahmud was based. Sultan Mahmud fled with his family across the Straits to Kampar in Sumatra, where he died two years later.
It soon became clear that Portuguese control of Malacca did not mean they now controlled Asian trade that centred around it. Their Malaccan rule was severely hampered by administrative and economic difficulties.Rather than achieving their ambition of dominating Asian trade, the Portuguese had fundamentally disrupted the organisation of the network. The centralised port of exchange of Asian wealth exchange had now gone, as was a Malay state to police the Straits of Malacca that made it safe for commercial traffic. Trade was now scattered over a number of ports amongst bitter warfare in the Straits.
The Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier spent several months in Malacca in 1545, 1546 and 1549. In 1641 the Dutch defeated the Portuguese to capture Malacca with the help of the Sultan of Johore. The Dutch ruled Malacca from 1641 to 1795 but they were not interested in developing it as a trading centre, placing greater importance to Batavia (Jakarta) in Indonesia as their administrative centre.
Malacca was ceded to the British in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 in exchange for Bencoolen on Sumatra. From 1826 to 1946 Malacca was governed, first by the British East India Company and then as a Crown Colony. It formed part of the Straits Settlements, together with Singapore and Penang. After the dissolution of this crown colony, Malacca and Penang became part of the Malayan Union, which later became Malaysia.

Photos time...

[neversaynever]

I give 10 coz its my hometown.

so guys,
lets
Enjoy reading the info
Enjoy seeing the pics
and of coz Enjoy voting...

[hif]

Quite poor, even for developing country. Blocks and empty meadows..

2/10

[forrestcat]

What meadows? Those wet empty spaces are mangrove swamps.Yes, they are not pretty.

[paw25694]

3.5/10
sorry, skyline is bad
but it's a nice historical city
i prefer Melaka by this way

[teckkang]

finally, Melaka poll is here.

[teckkang]

I think the swamp has got great potential to be developed into a nice park and waterfront.

[neversaynever]

Melaka Photos by other forumer

by D_Y2k.2^






by gordonv162








From Flickr.com







by Teckkang

[AhChuan]

Great!! Melaka has it's poll liao!! Ok ah....at least still got highrises within he city...so, 8/10!!

I giving a high not bcoz I am a Malaysian...but, melaka did had it's nice skylines!! So....plus a historical city again...what again...of coz a high marks!!!

Great job neversaynever....bring me out to jalan ler at tht place u mentioned...haha...

[neversaynever]

[neversaynever]

Originally Posted by AhChuan

Great!! Melaka has it's poll liao!! Ok ah....at least still got highrises within he city...so, 8/10!!

I giving a high not bcoz I am a Malaysian...but, melaka did had it's nice skylines!! So....plus a historical city again...what again...of coz a high marks!!!

Great job neversaynever....bring me out to jalan ler at tht place u mentioned...haha...

hahaha No prob. just let me know when u going down melaka.
so tat i can arrange to go down as well.

[neversaynever]

More Melaka Photos

by gordonv612




by James Foong








by nazrey












by D_Y2k.2^

[icracked]

8/10, I love this city, so cultural and very charming to my eyes. This has to be my 3rd favorite Malay city.

[forrestcat]

When I was last there...it seems all the buildings were repainted.

[AhChuan]

Originally Posted by neversaynever

hahaha No prob. just let me know when u going down melaka.
so tat i can arrange to go down as well.

OK...Hehehe... Actually I been to melaka liao lo...Love Melaka's chicken rice ball...so sedap!! Yummilious!!

[Kelsen]

7/10.

[GreenUrbano]

6/10

[teckkang]

Haha, i still remember this wonderful picture showcasing Klebang (suburban of Melaka city) skyline.

[chinatown]

very nice city but very small skyline.
4.5/10

[MasonicStage™]

nice...8/10