A Famosa

After the walk around the Dutch Square, we went to A Famosa. It is the oldest surviving European architectural remains in South-East Asia.

A Famosa, which means the famous in Portuguese, was located at St Paul’s Hill. At the summit, you get a good view of the city of Malacca. Due to land reclamation, the Straits of Malacca is now further south but you can still see it from the top of the hill.

It was a hot, sunny morning and although the harsh sunlight made it hard to shoot people, the skies were deep blue, making it ideal for shooting scenery.

Built by the Portuguese, the fortress was taken over by the Dutch who then gave it to the British. A Famosa was being demolished by the British until the intervention of Sir Stamford Raffles.

Only the small gate house, the Porta de Santiago, was spared from destruction. It has since become the iconic landmark in Malacca and a popular tourist attraction.

You can find St Paul’s Church at the summit of the hill. The church, originally Catholic and later reconsecrated for Dutch Reformed, is no longer in use and functions as a museum.

A local artist ply this trade there, selling sketches of local landmarks. Meanwhile, his cat sleeps like a boss, drawing the amused attention of tourists who are unfortunately more interested in the feline than in the artworks of the owner. And, in case you were wondering, the cat was alive. We weren’t sure so we observed for a while and noticed it was breathing.

With our stomachs starting to protest, we proceeded to a famous Peranakan restaurant for lunch.

For the gear geeks: this series was shot on the Fujifilm X100 and Ricoh GRD III.