Jamae Mosque, Singapore

Quietly holding its ground right in the heart of Chinatown, along South Bridge Road, is one of Singapore’s oldest surviving mosques, the Jamae Mosque. It began with the Chulias—Tamil Muslim traders from South India’s Coromandel Coast—who set up shop in early Singapore as money changers and merchants. Around 1826, they built their first mosque on this very spot. A few years later, between 1830 and 1835, it was replaced with the building seen today, which, quite impressively, has barely changed ever since.

Over the years, plans floated around to rebuild it entirely, but none took hold. Apart from a round of repairs in 1996, the mosque has stood almost untouched, a quiet constant amid the district’s constant reinventions. It faces Mecca, as all mosques do, though its overall compound politely follows the angles of the surrounding street grid—an architectural compromise that somehow adds to its charm.

What makes Jamae Mosque especially memorable is its wonderfully eclectic mix of styles. The entrance gate channels unmistakable South Indian character, while the prayer halls and the shrine seem to have taken design cues from the Neo-Classical vocabulary popular in 1830s Singapore. The look will feel familiar to anyone who knows George Drumgoole Coleman, the city’s first trained architect, whose influence seems to linger here. This mix of cultural signatures has made the mosque a favourite subject for photographers for well over a century—its image appears on postcards from the 1800s right up to today.

In recognition of its deep historical roots and architectural importance, the Jamae Mosque was officially declared a National Monument on November 19, 1974. Apart from being a place of worship, it serves as a living reminder of Singapore’s multicultural beginnings, standing calmly at one of the city’s busiest crossroads.