Singapore Chinatown - where Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism come together

I was alone one morning in Singapore and had no plans whatsoever. The day had started on a perfect note already - I was up at 6am, had an early breakfast and was ready to hit the road by 8am. It was towards the end of this walk that I discovered something very unique about Singapore, something so beautiful that I decided to write a short article on this. Read on to know what this was :)

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As I walked from Pan Pacific Hotel towards Chinatown, I saw an old and beautiful green structure. As I went closer, I realised this was the rather famous Masjid Jamae (also known as Chulia Mosque). For me the mosque was simply a discovery, as I didn’t even know about it when I stumbled upon it while talking some pictures on the street. I am not very religious myself, but I am extremely fascinated by places to worship. I have visited mosques in India extensively, and was curious to see if they were any different in Singapore.

The view of the classroom from inside 

Masjid Jamae

218 South Bridge Road

Established in the year 1826, this is one of the oldest mosques in Singapore. The mosque is also popularly known as Chulia Mosque after the sect Chulias, who originally came from Tamil Nadu during the British India. There have been efforts in the past to rebuild the mosque, but it has so fare remained largely unchanged. 

In the busy Chinatown area, this mosque stands out for its very unique architecture. Its simple and yet extremely elegant. Painted lime green, the mosque has its doors open and invites visitors to take a look inside. 

The Jamae Masjid from outside 

Young children learning Koran

As I walked in I could hear the sounds of young kids trying to read the Holy Book Koran. There were no other tourists at this time, so when I took out my camera to click they all noticed me and there was a momentary pause from all the humming. I looked at their teacher and asked (through my eyes) if I could click and he nodded his approval. Back home in India, I have seen such openness in the mosques of Ahmedabad also. 

So I made a few kids laugh and took their pictures. As the class was on, I waved goodbye and came out. The walk ahead was another astonishing discovery!

Sri Mariamman Temple

244 South Bridge Rd, Singapore 058793

I always knew about the presence of Indians from the earliest times time in Singapore, but the gorgeous South Indian temple a few minutes walk away from the Chulia Mosque still came as surprise. Somehow I had never quite connected Singapore with living heritage, but coming to this part of the country I was getting ample doses of that.

I felt quite at home in the temple, just as I did in the mosque. Both the temple and the mosque were set up by the immigrant Tamil population from India - same people and two of the oldest heritage buildings in the country made by them. I was impressed and yet humbled. Faiths, of course, do not belong to anyone specific but to everyone.

The multiple shrines in the temple compound

Sri Mariamman Temple is the oldest Hindu Temple in Singapore and was built in 1827 by a man named Naraina Pillai. Mariamman is a rural goddess from South Indian and is often worshipped for protection from diseases.

Actually while I walked around the temple and took a few pictures, this story started developing in my head and I knew that I had to go back and write about it. I love when faiths come together, physically also in this case, and it's small unexpected discoveries like these that make travel so much for me.

Gopuram - Shri Mariamman Temple

Inside the temple

It was really hot and I was tired so decided to walk into the shade of the plenty of China Town shops and drink some good coffee. I tried out the coffee at Nanyang Old Coffee - it's a beautiful red old building. Do pay them a visit, there is also a tiny Singapore Traditional Coffee Museum and it's a great place to escape from the sun as well :)

View inside the Singapore Traditional Coffee Museum

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum

288 S Bridge Rd, Singapore 058840

Once rejuvenated, I decided to walk even more and wandered around in the lanes and by-lanes of Chinatown. It was then that I came across the Buddhist Monastery, famous for housing the tooth relic of Buddha. I had been here on my past visit as well and was quite impressed by it.

However, it was only when I looked around the temple the street looked extremely familiar. I realised that after taking an entire round of Chinatown I was back on the Bridge street - the same street which also housed the Chulia mosque and Sri Mariamman Temple! Wow…that was super fantastic! 

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

Here are some interesting statistics - Hinduism and Buddhism both originated in India and India also has the largest population of Muslims in the entire world! I felt so close to home in Singapore, to me the religious diversity of the two countries actually bring us both together even more. As countries we might be very different, but there is something in the basic fabric of the country which brings us close together.

The beautiful wood work at the temple...

I strongly recommend doing this short walk and discovering such an important aspect of the history of Singapore. Trust me, this won’t disappoint you at all :)

However, there is much more to explore in the Chinatown at Singapore. Check out this video to know more :)

 

Read other stories from Singapore:
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Top Adventures in Singapore - JetPack, MegaZip, SeaTrek
Here is why Singapore Airlines Food and Crew rock!
Exploring Vegetarian Food in Singapore