Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Take a break

I think this will be my favourite entry. It's because things like these will only remain as memory and maybe the future generation will not be able to appreciate such existance especially in such a cosmopolitan country like singapore. Where else can we find serenity, idllyic getaway close to the Creator.

I went to an old part of Sembawang just the other day. Years ago when I visited this inner part of Sembawang, there was an old surau sitting on stilts. I didn't get a chance to capture that in picture. The mosque was like a fishermen's port. There were evidence of seashells embedded on the soil all the way leading to the surau. The surau was still surrounded by kampung houses. Just next to it was early signs of development. Trucks and cranes busily doing what they were suppose to do.

But when I went to the site the other day, it was all semi-detached houses - what use to be the surau on stilts.

Not so far down in a little corner next to Sembawang Park, drive in thru the semi-detached houses where the formerly known Kampung Wak Hassan used to be. Wak Hassan's name are now mere road signs. Wonder who was Wak Hassan. I heard the land is a wakaf land. So when you drive in thru the semi-detached houses you will suddenly overcome by a small road barely tarred, but its cleanliness and the idllyic feeling will take you away breathless. I have heard of this name numerous times. Never thought I will encounter it this way.

It was a clean plot of land and I learned that the former kampung residents still comeby for Jumaat prayers and I'm sure Ramadhan and Eids are just as magical as what I can imagine.

Here are some pictures to share because i don't know how long the mosque committee will win the war against urban development. In many ways things looks like its going against them. Just a few kilometres is a mosque in the urban jungle thriving with activities.

The front of the mosque

The cute lil' reban ayam

The fruit of labour

warning!

I can't imagine that Pasir Gudang is literally a stone's throw.

An evidence how long this mosque has been around. Compare it with the signage at the top. Look at the postal code. One of the rarest road signs still left in Singapore. Please don't take it out or refurbished it.

Ah well! This calls for heritage preservation. How many Malay kampungs and landmarks has been demolished to make way for development?

2 comments:

lunacy said...

u jln2 gie sembawang park eh?
how wonderful ..

I_mshe said...

sebenarnya ter-landing kat sembawang park setelah hantar my mom to JB that day with my brother. So kita orang pusing2x tgk rumah colonial. My brader memang suka benda2x lama apatah lagi masjid lama, kampung, rumah colonial.. dia lah nanti yang citer dulu apa kat situ sini.

yang surua atas stilts tu very very classic. sayang dah jadi rumah bungalow.

dgr citer jugak orang melayu yang dok persikitaran kampung wak hassan dulu dapat pampasan jadi bina rumah atas tanah wakaf wak hassan.
alkisahhhhhh....
agaknya wak hassan ni sarjan hassan tak???? jengjengjeng