We drove pass the weaving road at the foothills of Gunung Banang and head westwards. After 5km we arrive at the beach seen above facing the Straits or Selat Melaka...
Nearby are some stalls... Apparently this place is known as Pantai Minyak Beku (literally translated as the frozen oil beach)... Too bad, I didn't have the time to figure the actual story behind it as I had something else in mind. Nevertheless, it is a local tourist spot.
It is located south of the bay which leads to the mouth of the Batu Pahat river, the river that ran beside the town of Batu Pahat...
There, a monument welcoming visitors to Pantai Minyak Beku... What's more important though is what lies beyond the steps...
As I went up, a look at what's directly down next to the stairs...
The stairs lead to a rather curious combination of sight... A post saying "Perigi Batu Pahat" (the well of Batu Pahat) besides a mini police station! So that explains the white and blue colours...
Inside, lies a very important monument... The actual place that gave Batu Pahat its name! For the words Batu Pahat could be literally translated as the sculpted stone... But sculpted into what? That is the question...How did this thing came about? Just read the inscriptions... If you have problems with the size, just right-click it and save, and then view it using any picture viewing program...
And for the first time in my life, I knew the answer although I've been passing through the town of Batu Pahat practically half my life... That is when going to and from Muar to Kluang where I studied at a full-boarding school, also when going anywhere south when not passing through the North-South Highway... For the words Perigi Batu Pahat (now, you could say the well that was sculpted into stone) says it all...
And for the first time in my life, I saw the actual thing that gave Batu Pahat its name! Then again, despite having visited Batu Pahat many times, this is the first time I went here as the place lies on a dead route, 6-7 km from town...
Looking at it closely, I find it quite amazing how such a well could be sculpted into what appears like solid stone! I tried dipping my hands into it. I could vouch it is at least as deep as the length of my arms up to the elbow. I dare not venture any deeper... Who knows what lies inside!
I then when out to have a better look at the kind of surroundings where the well was made by sculpting... Just look at the solid stone...
You could say there is only one piece of big stone making up this part of the beach, a big mostly flat one... Whatever, its location which lies at the bay leading to the mouth of the main river in this district gave the whole place its name, Batu Pahat. That's all...
Laa saya dah sampai tempat ni, xtau pula ada lokasi sejarah kat sini. Terima kasih memberitahu... :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent effort.
ReplyDeleteThere is a similar blog about the Malay Sultanate and Malay heritage at : www.rajamenangis.blogspot.com
Best regards,
SHALI
Cheers! :]
ReplyDeleteKalau nak carik kubur melayu terawal pergilah ke Bukit Inas, di Pt Sulong antara kawasan org melayu terawal.
ReplyDeleteBatu Pahat Ada Sejarah Selain Perigi ada Kubur Panjarg LBK 20' panjang dekat Pulau Sialu.. boleh jalan dari pantai leb 7 minit perjalanan.
ReplyDeleteLetak di atas pulau ke? Maksud saudara boleh berjalan kaki sampai ke pulau? Kalau begitu bilakah waktu yang sesuai? Bagaimana jadual pasang surutnya? Oh... LBK tu apa maknanya? Maaf banyak soalan pula. Harap dapat dijawab...
ReplyDeleteKalau tak silap di Pulau Sialu tu pernah ada Rumah Api (Tak berapa pasti kalau sekarang Rumah Api tu masih wujud). Dan rasanya kalau nak ke sana kena tunggu air surut. Betul ke..?
ReplyDeletesalam. membaca artikel2 awak membuatkan saye terkenang tempat2 yang emak saye pernah sebutkan semasa beliau bercerita tentang zaman kanak2 dan remajanya di Johor (my mom is a Johorian, now living in Kuala Kangsar, Perak sebab ikut abah)... gunung banang, pantai minyak beku, sekolah dato bentara luar dll... tiba2 saya rase nak menjejak semua tempat2 ni!
ReplyDeleteterima kaseh :)
Wassalam. Eloklah tu. Pegi le jejak! :]
ReplyDeletesalam...
ReplyDeletesy memang lahir di pulau tu,pd tahun 70.
Mengikut kata allyarhamah nenek sy,semoga tenang dia disana...
Begini...
Asal mula perkataan sialu ialah sial lalu,bermakna siapa yg lalu di situ dikatakan sial ialah waktu dulu para lanun ramai dipulau tu dan merompak setiap pedagang indonesia ke malaysia.
Katanya lagi...
Asal nama batu pahat dtgnya dari perigi batu pahat yg betul2 berada dihdp pulau tu.Kalau di tengok memang benar perigi tu batunya dipahat.
Waktu kecil saya selalu mengambil air diperigi tu menaiki perahu.
Makanya perigi yg ada dipantai minyak beku tu bukannya perigi batu pahat.
perigi tu adalah perigi pinggan mangkuk.
Menurut cerita allahyarhamah nenek saya pada zaman dahulu perigi tersebut didiami oleh orang bunian.
Apabila masyrakat setempat mengadakan kenduri kendara mereka meminjam pinggan mangkuk dari perigi tersebut.
Apabila dah pinjam ramai yg x pulangkan,jadi org bunian ditempat tersebut pun merajuk,sehinggalah skrg perigi tersebut tidak mengeluarkan pinggan lagi.
Begitulah yg diceritakan kpd sy,
Sehingga skrg ramai yg x tahu asal usul sebenar dari mana dtgnya batu pahat.
Sebenarnya perigi dihdpn pulau sialu ,itulah perigi batu pahat.
Hanya segelintir masyarakat setempat yg tahu kisah tersebut...
Wassalam....