DO YOU KNOW?? Streets in Chinatown (Part 4)
Some historial information about Mosque Street..
In the Past
South Indian Muslims (a.k.a. Chulia Muslims) from the Coromandel Coast in India settled down in Singapore from the early 19th century onwards. The poorer South Indian Muslims settled down in the northern part of Chinatown, such as Mosque Street while the affluent ones lived in the southern part of Chinatown such as on the Market Street.
As women began travelling from India to Singapore only from the 1860s onwards, many South Indian Muslims who arrived here prior to the 1860s married local Malay women. Their offspring made up for a new race of people known as Jawi-Peranakan. To serve to the religious needs of the South Indian Muslims, Malays and the Jawi-Peranakan, the Jamae Mosque or Chulia Mosque was built on this street between 1830 and 1835.
Eventually, this street came to be known as Mosque Street due to the presence of the Mosque there. The exact time period during which the naming took place is unknown. Though located in the heart of Chinatown, Mosque Street was equally home to the Malays and the South Indian Muslims as well, apart from the Hakkas and Cantonese who set up shops on the street. The South Indians Muslims worked as small traders and money changers, the Hakkas usually sold second hand goods and the Cantonese set up restaurants or worked as jewellers and tailors.
The street in fact was a well-known food alley in the 19th century. Around 10 stables existed on this street in the 19th century, as Malays known to be good syces, earned their living handling horses.
In the Present Days
Today the street is under the Chinatown-Kreta Ayer Conservation Area as Chinatown was gazetted as a conservation area in 1989.Mosque Street runs parallel to a portion of Upper Cross Street and Pagoda Street on its either side. The street still retains its commercial flavour with shops set up inside the conserved shophouses lining the street. Part of the area bound by Cross Street and Mosque Street is lined with quaint 4-storey shophouses housing restaurants and shops within them.
As shophouses are usually one, two or three storey buildings, such 4-storied shophouses are not commonly found. Jamae Mosque, built in Chinese, Anglo-Indian and Malay architecture, adds to the old world flavour of the street. It is a gazetted national monument since 1974. As part of the efforts to revitalise Chinatown by the Singapore Tourism Board, many new eating places and bars have been set up on Mosque Street. The street currently bears a new look with traditional features of the street being blended into modern styles.
(Information taken from http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg)
In the Past
South Indian Muslims (a.k.a. Chulia Muslims) from the Coromandel Coast in India settled down in Singapore from the early 19th century onwards. The poorer South Indian Muslims settled down in the northern part of Chinatown, such as Mosque Street while the affluent ones lived in the southern part of Chinatown such as on the Market Street.
As women began travelling from India to Singapore only from the 1860s onwards, many South Indian Muslims who arrived here prior to the 1860s married local Malay women. Their offspring made up for a new race of people known as Jawi-Peranakan. To serve to the religious needs of the South Indian Muslims, Malays and the Jawi-Peranakan, the Jamae Mosque or Chulia Mosque was built on this street between 1830 and 1835.
Eventually, this street came to be known as Mosque Street due to the presence of the Mosque there. The exact time period during which the naming took place is unknown. Though located in the heart of Chinatown, Mosque Street was equally home to the Malays and the South Indian Muslims as well, apart from the Hakkas and Cantonese who set up shops on the street. The South Indians Muslims worked as small traders and money changers, the Hakkas usually sold second hand goods and the Cantonese set up restaurants or worked as jewellers and tailors.
The street in fact was a well-known food alley in the 19th century. Around 10 stables existed on this street in the 19th century, as Malays known to be good syces, earned their living handling horses.
In the Present Days
Today the street is under the Chinatown-Kreta Ayer Conservation Area as Chinatown was gazetted as a conservation area in 1989.Mosque Street runs parallel to a portion of Upper Cross Street and Pagoda Street on its either side. The street still retains its commercial flavour with shops set up inside the conserved shophouses lining the street. Part of the area bound by Cross Street and Mosque Street is lined with quaint 4-storey shophouses housing restaurants and shops within them.
As shophouses are usually one, two or three storey buildings, such 4-storied shophouses are not commonly found. Jamae Mosque, built in Chinese, Anglo-Indian and Malay architecture, adds to the old world flavour of the street. It is a gazetted national monument since 1974. As part of the efforts to revitalise Chinatown by the Singapore Tourism Board, many new eating places and bars have been set up on Mosque Street. The street currently bears a new look with traditional features of the street being blended into modern styles.
(Information taken from http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg)
posted by Ling | 6:27 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home