Showing 1-7 of 7 results
-
Leong San See Temple
Across the road from the Temple of 1000 Lights is the gorgeous Taoist Leong San See Temple, dedicated to Guan Yin, Goddess of Mercy. Built in 1917 using traditional joinery and intricately carved ceiling beams, this temple has an effervescent, happy atmosphere. The smiling Buddha welcomes you at the door; to promote good feng shui, walk around clockwise.
-
Malabar Muslim Jama-Ath Mosque
The sky-blue hexagonal-tiled Malabar Muslim Jama-Ath Mosque is hard to miss, right on a busy street corner. Malabar Muslims from the southern Indian state of Kerala have worshipped here since 1963. Overgrown with time and tree roots, the Royal Cemetery is behind the mosque, its shambolic tombstones slowly succumbing to gravity.
-
Sakaya Muni Buddha Gaya Temple
In 1927 a Thai Buddhist monk founded the Sakaya Muni Buddha Gaya Temple, usually called the Temple of 1000 Lights. Inside is a 15m-high, 300-tonne Buddha alongside an eclectic collection of deities including Guan Yin, Chinese Goddess of Mercy, and Hindu deities Brahma and Ganesh. At the base of the Buddha's back is a door into a prayer room. Around the Buddha's base are 'Buddha - This Is Your Life!' models - and at least 1000 electric lights.
-
Sri Mariamman Temple
Paradoxically in the middle of Chinatown, Sri Mariamman is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore, originally built in 1823, then rebuilt in 1843. You can't miss the incredible technicolour 1930s gopuram (tower) above the entrance, key to the temple's South-Indian Dravidian style. Sacred cow sculptures graze the boundary walls, while the gopuram is covered in over-the-top images of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer.
-
Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple
Dating from 1855, this is one of the city's most important temples. If you're here in February for the Thaipusam Festival, the procession of devotees, with spikes and skewers driven through their bodies, begins under the temple's gopuram (entrance tower).
-
Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple
Dazzlingly colourful, the bustling Shaivite Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple is dedicated to Kali, bloodthirsty consort of Shiva. Kali's always been big in Bengal, birthplace of the labourers who built this temple in 1881. Inside, Kali is pictured draped with skulls, disembowelling victims, and in calm repose with her sons Ganesh and Murugan.
-
Wak Hai Cheng Bio Temple
On the CBD edge of Chinatown, the Taoist Wak Hai Cheng Bio Temple is also known as the Yueh Hai Ching Temple, which translates as Calm Sea Temple. Dating from 1826, it's an atmospheric place - giant incense coils smoulder over an empty courtyard while a village of tiny plaster figures populate the roof.
Showing 1-7 of 7 results
