Google maps: Melaka, Malaysia
First time Unesco let me down. Usually it always indicates a site worth visiting and exploring, but it seems like this time they just bought a great story. And Melaka has a great one to tell. It is located on the shores of the strategic Melaka Straits (now and before one of the world's busiest sea routes) so it was born to be a powerhouse. Indian traders set it up, Chinese took it over to be later overrun by Malays who created the powerful Melaka Sultanate. This drew the Portuguese in mid-16th century, but they cared too much about religion and after 100 years the Dutch showed them the way out. They on the other hand cared only about trade and were eventually replaced by British, who traded but also applied divide-and-rule tactics supported by some warships and rifles. All communities left their mark on Melaka - Indians their cuisine, Chinese their trade shops, Malays left nothing but current local government built few replicas, Portuguese left a church now in ruins, Dutch a town hall (Stadhuys) and British their administrative system. It is a great story of East meeting West and history repeating itself; it is only pity for the tourists that in spite of the story there is really nothing to see here... (the food was still good :-)
First time Unesco let me down. Usually it always indicates a site worth visiting and exploring, but it seems like this time they just bought a great story. And Melaka has a great one to tell. It is located on the shores of the strategic Melaka Straits (now and before one of the world's busiest sea routes) so it was born to be a powerhouse. Indian traders set it up, Chinese took it over to be later overrun by Malays who created the powerful Melaka Sultanate. This drew the Portuguese in mid-16th century, but they cared too much about religion and after 100 years the Dutch showed them the way out. They on the other hand cared only about trade and were eventually replaced by British, who traded but also applied divide-and-rule tactics supported by some warships and rifles. All communities left their mark on Melaka - Indians their cuisine, Chinese their trade shops, Malays left nothing but current local government built few replicas, Portuguese left a church now in ruins, Dutch a town hall (Stadhuys) and British their administrative system. It is a great story of East meeting West and history repeating itself; it is only pity for the tourists that in spite of the story there is really nothing to see here... (the food was still good :-)
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