14 Jalan Daranjo
Perkampungan Portugis
75050 Melaka
Coordinates: 2.183794, 102.266626
The Portuguese Settlement is a Malacca Portuguese community
in Ujong Pasir, Melaka, Malaysia.
The Malacca portuguese
are a Malaysian ethnic group with mixed Portuguese and Malay, which arose
during the Portuguese colonial period (16th to 17th century).
In 1933, 11 hectares
of land at Malacca were purchased with the purpose of creating a haven for
scattered Malacca Portuguese and their culture. The swampy land was cleared and
10 wooden houses with earth floors and attap roofs were built. Saint John's
village, as that simple fishing village was originally known, soon attracted
additional malacca portuguese living all over Malacca, and grew to become one
of Malacca's main tourist attractions, improving the standard of living of its
villagers.
I came here a very long time ago before all this land
reclamation began, and in place of the concrete plaza of hawker stalls there
were wooden huts overlooking the sea. You literally sat under the stars and beside the gentle waves as you had your dinner of seafood and other assorted dishes
(my particular favourite was the Devil’s Curry).
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| clean and sanitised |
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| there's even a hotel at the other end |
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| remnants of what it used to look like |
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| this stall has a very special place in my heart |
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| view of the jetty (or is it a pier) |
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| it goes on a long way |
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| view of Hotel Lisbon |
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| view from the jetty |
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| a closer look at the remnants |
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| an even closer look at the remnants |
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| more developments coming up |
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| one final shot |
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| Brendan's caught sight of something? |
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| ah, so this was it |
Today the swamp is gone, and in place of it is a clean and satinized
version of the Portuguese Settlement that I am not sure what to make of. Regardless,
we’ll be coming again for dinner one of these days. Hopefully I’ll find me some
Devil’s Curry!
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