Today, I went to Fort Canning. I had a lot of fun. I got two Fort Canning Stamps, one of a Nutmeg & one of a compass. I had a tour of the Battlebox, went up to the watchtower of the Fort Canning and even picked up my own nutmeg! I also visited the Christian Cemetary, outside the Government House, which used to be Sir Stamford Raffles's house in the 1800s. Fort Canning was built in 1859 to protect the Old Harbor, a place of trade.
Modern Singapore dates from 1819,with the arrival of the British. However, the story of Singapore goes a long, long way, and possible mentions of the island have been made in written records of ancient times. The first indisputable evidence of a settlement called Temasek of Nagarakretagama of 1365, which named a settlement called Temasek on Singapore Island. It is believed that "Temasek" means "Sea-Town", and this was the name given to our island until a prince called Sang Nila Utama from Sumatra arrived at our shores in 1299. According to legend, he spotted a beautiful animal while hunting and was told it was a lion. The prince then decided to name this island "Singha" (lion) - "Pura" (city). Sang Nila Utama (also called Sri Tri Buana) liked this place so much that he and his followers settled here.
Sri Tri Buana built his palace on Fort Canning Hill. The hill was called "Bukit Larangan" (Forbidden Hill) because only the royal family and courtiers were allowed on the hill. Commoners needed permission to ascent the hill. During this periout, the palace was protected by a defensive wall along the bottom of the hill that ran all the way to the Singapore River. There was a stream along the wall that created a natural moat. The palace contained orchards and gardens that provided the royal family with fruits such as durians, lime, pomelos, langsat, shaddock and spices such as clove and nutmeg. For water, the royal family used the 'Pancur Larangan' or 'Forbidden Stream'.
The kings of Singapore also had their burial sites on the hill. Today you can also find the grave of what is believed to be the last king of Singapore, Parameswara (also known as Sultan Iskandar Shah). It is believed that Sultan Iskandar Shah killed the previous king on the hill. A legend also says that Sultan Iskandar Shah was the person that founded Malacca (in the old days called Melaka).
