Stuff To Do!
Street Light Up: 24 August - 5 Oct
Food & Goods Bazaar: 1-29 Sep
Free Hari Raya Walking Tour for Visitors:
Dates: 1-30 Sep,
Timing: 4.15pm, 5.15pm, 6.15pm.
Registration:
Main entrance of Sultan Mosque, Bussorah Street, Kampong Glam.
Register 30 minutes before the start of tour.
Nearest MRT Station: Bugis
History!
Kampong Glam got its name from the gelam tree that used to grow abundantly in the area. Kampong in Malay means village. So Kampong Glam may loosely be translated 'Village of Gelam Trees'.
Before land was reclaimed around the Beach Road area, Kampong Glam was actually very near a harbour. Here, Bugis sailors used the bark of the gelam tree to seal gaps in their boats.
When Stamford Raffles arrived in 1819, he negotiated with a Sultan Hussein to set up a trading post for the British East India Company. They also agreed to set aside Kampong Glam as a settlement for the Malay-Muslims in Singapore. By the end of 1819, Sultan Hussein had built his palace-of-sorts in this area. It was commonly referred to as Istana Kampong Glam.
The palace was rebuilt by Sultan Hussein's son, Tunku Ali, in the 1840s. Today, the 2-storey building has been restored and used as a Malay Heritage Centre.
Sultan Hussein also negotiated with Raffles to build a mosque near his palace. Raffles eventually contributed $3000 Spanish dollars to the building of this mosque, which was predictably called Sultan Mosque.
The original mosque was a single-storey building. In the 1920s, Singapore's Muslim community undertook a major fund-raising project to rebuild the mosque. The splendid building was completed in 1928. Even today, it stands as Singapore's largest mosque, and easily accommodates up to 5000 worshippers at any one time.
The Malays of colonial Singapore also traded extensively with the Arabs and enjoyed a good relationship with them. Many Arabs felt so comfortable they actually settled in Kampong Glam. They were a major influence in this area. If you take a walking tour of Kampong Glam today, you'll see streets named after Middle Eastern places - Arab Street, Busorrah Street, Baghdad Street, Muscat Street.
What's There To See?
You may shop for distinctly Malay/Arab goods, visit Singapore's largest mosque,
admire early-Singapore shophouse architecture, get a better understanding of Malay heritage, and even try your hand at pottery and batik-painting.
admire early-Singapore shophouse architecture, get a better understanding of Malay heritage, and even try your hand at pottery and batik-painting.
Price guide - per person : $19 SGD Book Now!
In Geylang Serai:
Street Light Up: 30 August - 12 Oct
Street Bazaar: 1-30 Sep
