From Malacca to Portugal, Trip to Lisbon Options

[malaccan]

Here's another mini trip report following the previous ones to Istanbul and Venice for those interested. I took a weekend break in Lisbon sometime last month. Good food, friendly people, value for money, excellent weather, Mediterranean outlook - wasn't a difficult decision to make. The historical link with Malacca was however the clincher. I was touched by the Portuguese sense of 'saudade' a sort of melancholic longing. Maybe I've been away from Malacca for too long.

For God, Gold and Glory - these drove the Portuguese explorers to explore new waters. Malacca was the port in southeast Asia which controlled the spice route to the West via Venice and India. It was a Muslim sultanate, which added even more to its allure. Amongst all the powers in classical southeast Asia, Malacca was the first to be coveted and subsequently colonised by the West. First the Portuguese, then Dutch and then British.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/lisboa.jpg)
Lisbon is a great city to explore by foot. The setup of the old city is reminiscent of how the Portuguese organised Portuguese Malacca - fort at the top of the hill, and cathedral at the bottom. The castle at the top of the hill was actually built by the Moors and is surrounded by the atmospheric if decaying Alfama district

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/afonsodealburqueque.jpg)
Picture of Alfonso de Alburqueque in the Maritime Museum

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/afonso.jpg) (IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/pracaafonso.jpg)
The nearby Praca de Afonso. Nice shady park actually.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/malaca.jpg)
On the River Tagus is a site called the Monument of Discovery where there is a huge worl map on the ground depicting past conquests, dated to the date of the expedition departure from Liboa itself.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/oldmap.jpg)
Old map depicting Malacca. The disporportionate scale was an indication of how important and large its holdings were at the time vis-a-vis India and Africa.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/portuguesearmour.jpg)
These were what our pendekar and pahlawan were up against in one-to-one combat

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/alfamagraffiti.jpg)
This was a smart graffiti in the Alfama district, the owner had sprayed paint it outside his house. There's a love-hate relationship between Portugal and Spain as you can imagine.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/secatedral.jpg)
A very nice gift from a painter I befriended outside the Se Catedral. He'd been to Malacca or 'Malaca' before and gave this as a token of friendship. It's a very nice gesture, I gave him a crumpled RM10 note I had in my wallet and wrote 'Hadiah dari anak Melaka'. I think he liked it as he was a bit of a history buff himself. It was great feeling to imgaine that whilst our great forebearers had been enemies, we parted as friends.

[Crystallised Dre...]

Wow, great narration and photos, malaccan! Very nice painting, too. Kinda envious of the fact that you get to go to so many interesting places, hehe. I'm especially intrigued by the armours... while I've definitely seen them before, your caption 'These were what our pendekar and pahlawan were up against in one-to-one combat' puts a whole new perspective on the Portuguese occupation of Melaka. I don't think the pendekars and pahlawans had hardy body armours or anything able to rival the effectiveness of a gun, right? A pretty miserable situation I should think...

I should pay a visit to Portugal one day. Having said that, how did your teacher pronounce 'Alfonso de Alberquerque'? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

edit: Can't believe I didn't mention this in my post:- Great graffiti! Haha. I notice that it's been faintly crossed out, maybe by a pen or something. Can't help but wonder if it is the doing of a Spaniard.

This post has been edited by Crystallised Dream: Apr 12 2009, 07:35 AM

[malaccan]

1. I'm sure you'll get to travel soon CD. It doesn't seem too long ago that I was sitting for SPM, wondering what I'd be doing in 10 years time (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif)
2. And what did our warriors use? Ilmu kebal! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
3. My teacher pronounced the name as 'Al-bu-kuar-ki'. I'm kicking myself now for not asking a local for the right pronounciation! Duh.

The Alfama district where that graffiti was found is a residential quarter, but is popular amongst visitors for its meandering streets and nooks and crannies. I imagine that some could be rather noisy and somewhat disrespectful of the local people, hence the cheeky message which takes a swipe at its most immediate neighbour, whose coastal cities are descended by very boisterous visitors whole-year long. Not that there isn't a Portuguese equivalent in Porto and Faro.

I hope you like these photos inside the Se Catedral. It's very calm inside and in times past the explorers would start their long sea journeys by offering prayers here. It was built in 12th century so you can imagine how historical it is.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/insidese1.jpg) (IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/insidese2.jpg)
(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/insidese3.jpg) (IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/insidese4.jpg)
Very atmospheric.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/insidese5.jpg)
The stone inscriptions are very reminiscent of the ones in A Famosa

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/henrynavigator-1.jpg)
Remember Henry Pelayaran? He's the guy at the front.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/tagus_lisboa.jpg)
The River Tagus. Near the middle of the pic in the far distance is the Cristo-Rei, which was built as a replica of the famous Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. The Portuguese arrived in Brazil in 1500, a good 11 years before Malacca was taken. Needless to say there are many, many, many Brazilians in Lisbon.

[Protoculture]

Wahhh, nice one!

[Majapahitans]

Wow awesome pictures mallaccan...
I'm soo envious...
You've visited many interesting places.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggthumpup.gif)

[malaccan]

^Cuma rezeki saya buat kali ini, Maja. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif) Apapun saya memang rasa bertuah kerana punyai peluang untuk melihat negeri orang.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/serani1.jpg) (IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/serani2.jpg)
The local Serani of Malacca, descendents of the Portuguese. I didn't see any of this kind of dances in Lisbon as it's very folksy.
Instead over dinner the locals would prefer to listen to 'fado' over a meal, be it in a restaurant or tavern.

[DutchEastIndiesM...]

Portugal is next in my list.....that is if i got the money tho...

[Bakso]

Malaccan ni suka jalan2...

have you tried their Porto wine? its good...

[sonofgunongjerai]

Syoknya, teringin nak berjalan macam En. Malaccan. Dok tak dudok dah sampai Lisbong pon dia. Rasa macam tengok Melaka Bandaraya Bersejarah lak pula bila tengok tugu-tugu dan gereja besar tu.

[malaccan]

Portugal is next in my list.....that is if i got the money tho...

Go for it DEIM. Since you're coming for Oz, it'd be best to take a tour of several sights at a go. Lisbon-Madrid-Barcelona-Marseilles-Florence-Rome would be good.

Malaccan ni suka jalan2...

have you tried their Porto wine? its good...

Memang saya suka melancong tapi bak kata orang lah kan... Hujan emas di negeri orang...

And no, I haven't.

Syoknya, teringin nak berjalan macam En. Malaccan. Dok tak dudok dah sampai Lisbong pon dia. Rasa macam tengok Melaka Bandaraya Bersejarah lak pula bila tengok tugu-tugu dan gereja besar tu.

Eh, sonofgj ni orang Kedah ke orang Ganu? Lisbong Lisbong! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_wink.gif)

I'll end this entry with a pic of arquably the most famous Malaysian with Malacca-Portuguese heritage just now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/madcool.gif)
(IMG:http://www.tonyfernandesblog.com/skins/ceoblog/img/header_bg.jpg)

[Malay_guy]

There were Malay prisoners and slaves transported from Malacca to Portugal after the defeat of Malacca Sultanate. I wonder what happen to them. Maybe we can find a people with malay ancestry in Portugal today.

[swingdoctor]

There were Malay prisoners and slaves transported from Malacca to Portugal after the defeat of Malacca Sultanate. I wonder what happen to them. Maybe we can find a people with malay ancestry in Portugal today.

Quite possibly, but since its been about 500 years, the people have probably blended in with the Portugese. Who knows maybe in some quiet village in Portugal boys are playing an ancient game known to them as "catek" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif) .

@ Malacca. Thanks for the account of your trip to the land of my ancestors. Its sounds corny I know, I don't speak Portugese and the Portugese in Malaysia practice their own culture which in truth is heavily Asian and in particular Malay influenced, but still it brings a sense of nostalgia reading what you wrote. Its interesting that my mother's mother tongue is Portugese but she can't understand the Portugese that is spoken in Portugal neither can they understand her, perhaps its a dialect I don't know. Furthermore, when my sister was there she looked up my mothers maiden name in the telephone directory, alas there was no long lost relative to be found. Its interesting how life moves in circles, as far as we understand there hasn't been anyone who has reutned to Portugal since my forefathers arrived in Malaysia 500 odd years ago, yet now my sister has been to Portugal, and I would like to make a trip there one day, just to see what its like. Who know's maybe I'll end up walking on the very same warf that my ancestors took their very last step on home soil before boarding their ships, sadly ships of war and not of friendship.

BTW its good to have you back.

[sonofgunongjerai]

^^^
You should consider learning back Portuguese of your heritage and teaching it to your children like what Malaysian Siamese did, but we aren't very far from our ancestor land like yours. Siam empire also had sent Emissary to Malacca in 15th C under the reign of Emperor Ekatotsaroth. Portuguese army served in Siam Empire as paid soldiers in 15th C.

[swingdoctor]

^^^
You should consider learning back Portuguese of your heritage and teaching it to your children like what Malaysian Siamese did, but we aren't very far from our ancestor land like yours. Siam empire also had sent Emissary to Malacca in 15th C under the reign of Emperor Ekatotsaroth. Portuguese army served in Siam Empire as paid soldiers in 15th C.

Its quite sad that since that since my mothers generation by and large married outside their race, the Portugese that they speak hasn't been passed on to the next generation. I guess it was only a matter of time though. The Portugese that they speak would not be recognisable in any of the Portugese speaking countries of the world. Its probabaly a mixture of Portugese spoken in the 1500's and Malay/Tamil/Chinese. Culture is an evolving thing and trying to stop it changing is like trying to hold back the tide, its not possible. Even the culture that is practiced by the Orang Serani is not true Western/Portugese/Dutch/English culture, in fact it bears little resemblance to it. Still we are the product of our parents and the life that I lead, my beliefs and culture that I practice is a product of both my parents, and its something I'm proud of. Something we should all be proud of.

[malaccan]

^sonofgj: There's a Thai movie called the King Maker (with special effect which still bettered most Malaysian movies) in which Portuguese soldiers then had offered their mercenary services to the Thai king. The hero/protagonist was a Portuguese officer.

(IMG:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/Kingmaker.jpg) (IMG:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/76/King_makernw.jpg)
I watched this movie in Bangkok. My friend has sold it to me that it's something like Suriyothai (it wasn't!!) I'd also wanted to see John Rhys Davies act post LOTR (IMG:style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif)

@swingdoctor: Thanks for the kind words. You've been away a while too I think, haven't you? I'm glad you liked the photo and short write-up. It's pleasantly surprising to know that your mom still speaks some patios Portuguese in Johor? And what's catek? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_redface.gif)

The Tower of Belem on the Tagus River would've been one of the last things your ancestors would've seen as the on their way east. It was built on an islet out to sea as a line of defence against enemy forces approaching from the sea. Over the centuries the coastline changed and it now very near shore.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/towerbelem.jpg)
Tower of Belem - one of the few structures to have survived the Great Earthquake of 1755 which almost caused the total disaster of the city.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/streetlisboa.jpg) (IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/elevador.jpg)
Some street scenes. Lisbon is a nice city to explore by foot.
It's complemented by a perfectly adequate metro system, which is serviced by underground stations decorated with beautiful wall murals (sorry, no pics).

This post has been edited by malaccan: Apr 28 2009, 06:41 PM

[swingdoctor]

^ Malaccan I think you have been away too long if if have to ask what catek is (IMG:style_emoticons/default/SHOCKED.gif) , or perhaps its a game only played in Johor. A catek has a round rubber base usually made up of a few pieces cut from the inner tube of a tyre. It has a nail sticking through its middle to which feathers (usually duck I think) is tied to. Its played quite similar to sepak takraw but obviously without the net.

[malaccan]

^(IMG:style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) Oh!! Now I know what you mean. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_redface.gif) Chapteh! I just call it bulu ayam. How can any kid (well back then anyway) not know this game (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif) Those were the days eh - galah panjang, teng teng, konda-kondi, baling selipar etc. You're making me nostalgic now. How very 'saudade'. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_wink.gif)

[swingdoctor]

^(IMG:style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) Oh!! Now I know what you mean. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_redface.gif) Chapteh! I just call it bulu ayam. How can any kid (well back then anyway) not know this game (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif) Those were the days eh - galah panjang, teng teng, konda-kondi, baling selipar etc. You're making me nostalgic now. How very 'saudade'. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_wink.gif)

I've just got spelling dyslexia (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) .

That used to be my favourite game as a child along with fighting spiders and climbing trees to pluck fruit.

[radzi]

Here's another mini trip report following the previous ones to Istanbul and Venice for those interested. I took a weekend break in Lisbon sometime last month. Good food, friendly people, value for money, excellent weather, Mediterranean outlook - wasn't a difficult decision to make. The historical link with Malacca was however the clincher. I was touched by the Portuguese sense of 'saudade' a sort of melancholic longing. Maybe I've been away from Malacca for too long.

For God, Gold and Glory - these drove the Portuguese explorers to explore new waters. Malacca was the port in southeast Asia which controlled the spice route to the West via Venice and India. It was a Muslim sultanate, which added even more to its allure. Amongst all the powers in classical southeast Asia, Malacca was the first to be coveted and subsequently colonised by the West. First the Portuguese, then Dutch and then British.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/lisboa.jpg)
Lisbon is a great city to explore by foot. The setup of the old city is reminiscent of how the Portuguese organised Portuguese Malacca - fort at the top of the hill, and cathedral at the bottom. The castle at the top of the hill was actually built by the Moors and is surrounded by the atmospheric if decaying Alfama district

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/afonsodealburqueque.jpg)
Picture of Alfonso de Alburqueque in the Maritime Museum

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/afonso.jpg) (IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/pracaafonso.jpg)
The nearby Praca de Afonso. Nice shady park actually.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/malaca.jpg)
On the River Tagus is a site called the Monument of Discovery where there is a huge worl map on the ground depicting past conquests, dated to the date of the expedition departure from Liboa itself.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/oldmap.jpg)
Old map depicting Malacca. The disporportionate scale was an indication of how important and large its holdings were at the time vis-a-vis India and Africa.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/portuguesearmour.jpg)
These were what our pendekar and pahlawan were up against in one-to-one combat

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/alfamagraffiti.jpg)
This was a smart graffiti in the Alfama district, the owner had sprayed paint it outside his house. There's a love-hate relationship between Portugal and Spain as you can imagine.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/secatedral.jpg)
A very nice gift from a painter I befriended outside the Se Catedral. He'd been to Malacca or 'Malaca' before and gave this as a token of friendship. It's a very nice gesture, I gave him a crumpled RM10 note I had in my wallet and wrote 'Hadiah dari anak Melaka'. I think he liked it as he was a bit of a history buff himself. It was great feeling to imgaine that whilst our great forebearers had been enemies, we parted as friends.

Thanks Malaccan for the great photos of Portugal.

We all knew about the raise of Portugal into power after they had chased the Moroccans Muslims out of that part of Andalusia.

Do you have any pictures to share about the greatness of the Empire of Malacca?

Thanks in advance.

[Suzuka00]

Here's another mini trip report following the previous ones to Istanbul and Venice for those interested. I took a weekend break in Lisbon sometime last month. Good food, friendly people, value for money, excellent weather, Mediterranean outlook - wasn't a difficult decision to make. The historical link with Malacca was however the clincher. I was touched by the Portuguese sense of 'saudade' a sort of melancholic longing. Maybe I've been away from Malacca for too long.

For God, Gold and Glory - these drove the Portuguese explorers to explore new waters. Malacca was the port in southeast Asia which controlled the spice route to the West via Venice and India. It was a Muslim sultanate, which added even more to its allure. Amongst all the powers in classical southeast Asia, Malacca was the first to be coveted and subsequently colonised by the West. First the Portuguese, then Dutch and then British.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/lisboa.jpg)
Lisbon is a great city to explore by foot. The setup of the old city is reminiscent of how the Portuguese organised Portuguese Malacca - fort at the top of the hill, and cathedral at the bottom. The castle at the top of the hill was actually built by the Moors and is surrounded by the atmospheric if decaying Alfama district

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/afonsodealburqueque.jpg)
Picture of Alfonso de Alburqueque in the Maritime Museum

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/afonso.jpg) (IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/pracaafonso.jpg)
The nearby Praca de Afonso. Nice shady park actually.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/malaca.jpg)
On the River Tagus is a site called the Monument of Discovery where there is a huge worl map on the ground depicting past conquests, dated to the date of the expedition departure from Liboa itself.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/oldmap.jpg)
Old map depicting Malacca. The disporportionate scale was an indication of how important and large its holdings were at the time vis-a-vis India and Africa.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/portuguesearmour.jpg)
These were what our pendekar and pahlawan were up against in one-to-one combat

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/alfamagraffiti.jpg)
This was a smart graffiti in the Alfama district, the owner had sprayed paint it outside his house. There's a love-hate relationship between Portugal and Spain as you can imagine.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/secatedral.jpg)
A very nice gift from a painter I befriended outside the Se Catedral. He'd been to Malacca or 'Malaca' before and gave this as a token of friendship. It's a very nice gesture, I gave him a crumpled RM10 note I had in my wallet and wrote 'Hadiah dari anak Melaka'. I think he liked it as he was a bit of a history buff himself. It was great feeling to imgaine that whilst our great forebearers had been enemies, we parted as friends.

there were no satelites then actually so they would mistake them.