After the tomb of Hang Tuah, we next went to Masjid Tengkera, the mosque of Tengkera...
Built in the 1720s or so, it is one of the oldest still-existing mosque in Malaysia...
It used to be the state mosque of Melaka...
For information the word Tengkera came from Portuguese word tranquerah which means rampart or a low-built fortification. The surrounding area used to be a busy suburb lying just outside the main fort of A Famosa, the Portuguese military stronghold after they conquered the city of Melaka in 1511 AD. Thus it was protected by such a rampart. However this mosque was built only after the Dutch took over rule starting in 1641. The Portuguese were very much against Islam and used to destroy every mosque they could get their hands on while the Dutch adopted a more egalitarian policy to get the Muslims to work alongside...
At the grounds of the mosque lies the tomb of Sultan Hussin Shah. For the record he was the ruler of the remnants of the Johor-Riau-Lingga empire which used to inherit the colonies of the Melaka Sultanate. Too bad the empire was broken apart by the Dutch-Anglo Treaty of 1824, during his rule...
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