This mosque (Masjid Tengkera) in Jalan Tengkera was originally a wooden structure in 1728, with its present form starting in 1910, so it is one of the oldest mosques in Malaysia. The three-tier roof structure is typical of Melakan mosques and is considered to be influenced by Indian, Javanese or Sumatran heritage, depending on what you read.
To precis the official noticeboard, “The building of this mosque symbolises the arrival of Islam over 600 years ago….In terms of the concept, the mosque was built based on the principles of Islam, with four main pillars as the base to the roof and dome, which symbolically signifies the relationship between man, nature and the Creator. The peak of the mosque becomes the source of all hope and prays to Allah the Almighty."
We visited this particular mosque because the neighbouring graveyard contains the tomb of Sultan Hussein Shah (also known as Tengku Long), the Sultan of Johor who ceeded Singapore over to Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819. Sultan Hussein continued to live in Singapore until 1834 when he moved to Melaka. He died in 1835.
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