Three days ago, I went on a field trip to Kampong Glam. ( Kampong Glam was the home of the Malay Royalty before the time of Raffles.) When I reached Kampong Glam, I found out that Kampong Glam actually takes its name from the Glam ( melaleuca leucadendron ) trees.
The Bugis and Malays extracted oil from the leaves of the Glam trees for medcine and also to make their ships watertight. The bark was used to caulk ships. The tour guide also told us that tombstone carving and blacksmith were unique traditional trades. I even went to the graveyard.
Other than the origin of the name and the traditional trades, there were also a lot of mosques in Kampong Glam. I stepped into the Masjid Sultan ( Sultan Mosque ) with no shoes and went to learn more.
It was SUPER quiet in the mosque. Even the tour guide had to keep his voice low when talking in the mosque. ( FACT: the Sultan Mosque can accommodate up to 5000 Muslims!
Lastly, I visited a school in Arab Street. The school was called the Alsagoff Arab School. It was built in the early 1912. It was named after a wealthy Arab merchant and a philanthropist.
The tour finally ended and I boarded the school bus. I hope that I can go on such trips again.
Friday, 12 March 2010
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