Armenian Street, George Town (must see)

Armenian Street compresses several chapters of George Town’s multicultural history into a narrow row of shophouses. Originally known as Malay Lane, it formed part of an early Malay settlement and was associated with local metalworkers. By 1808, the road had been renamed Armenian Street after the Armenian merchants who lived there. Their community was always small, however, and its presence proved relatively brief. Saint Gregory’s Armenian Church, founded in 1822, was demolished in 1937, and today the street’s name is one of the clearest reminders of the community.

By the mid-19th century, Chinese residents and organisations had become increasingly prominent, establishing clan houses, temples and commercial premises. The district was also associated with rival Chinese and Malay secret societies. During the Penang Riots of 1867, fierce clashes broke out around Armenian Street before British colonial forces, reinforced by sepoys, suppressed the fighting.

Another important episode occurred in 1910, when Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen met supporters in a townhouse at number 120 and helped organise an uprising against the Qing dynasty. The restored building is now the Sun Yat Sen Museum, where visitors can learn about his activities in Penang while exploring a traditional townhouse with an internal courtyard.

Today, Armenian Street lies within George Town’s UNESCO-listed historic centre and is known for museums, clan buildings, craft shops, cafés and street art. Its most photographed work is Ernest Zacharevic’s Children on a Bicycle, painted during the 2012 George Town Festival and incorporating a real bicycle fixed to the wall. Look beyond the mural at the carved doors, tiled thresholds, shuttered windows, old signboards and gateways leading towards hidden courtyards. The street and its surrounding heritage enclave also served as a filming location for the 1999 film Anna and the King.