Saturday, December 09, 2006

Europe in Melaka

Strangely enough, in the east you sometimes find a little bit of Europe. Melaka has had quite a variable history in the last few hundred years because of its strategic position for shipping in the Malacca Straits. The Portuguese, the Dutch and the British all had a hand in it. (For more info about the Portuguese time here, try this website.)


So in the historical district of Malacca you come across monuments you would not be surprised to see in Europe. The carving above was on the old fort. The church below came to be used by the British to store ammunition. Tombstone in the old church.This cage, still in the old church, covered the tomb of St Francis Xavier before it was moved to Goa in India.This is another statue to St Francis Xavier found in the grounds of the old church on the hill above the ruins of the old fort walls.



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