Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca
| Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
 
Melaka, above, George Town, below
|
|
| Location | Malaysia |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | (ii), (iii), (iv) |
| Reference | 1223 |
| UNESCO region | Asia and the Pacific |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2008 (32nd Session) |
Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca is a UNESCO World Heritage listing comprising the historic urban centres of two cities, Melaka and George Town, that illustrate 500 years of cultural and trade exchange between East and West.
This World Heritage site illustrates the development of maritime urban settlements in the region over time and the contributions of diverse ethnic and cultural groups in developing these cities. The government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications of Melaka demonstrate the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate, which was followed by Portuguese and Dutch periods of control beginning in the early 16th century. George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century and features residential and commercial buildings of the period. In both cities, the cultural and architectural contributions of local Malays as well as Chinese and South Asian immigrants can be seen, and their own evolutions traced over times as well.
Melaka was inscribed in the listing using the Malay language spelling of the name, as opposed to the more traditional English language spelling of its name, "Malacca".
The listing was inscribed on the basis of Criterion (ii), "exhibit an important interchange of human values", as the two cities are examples of multicultural trading forged from the exchange of Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures, and three successive European colonial powers over almost 500 years; Criterion (iii): "bearing unique testimony to a cultural tradition", as the cities’ multicultural heritage is expressed through the great variety of religious buildings of many faiths, ethnic quarters, languages, and festivals; and Criterion (iv): "an outstanding example of a type of building or landscape which illustrates a significant stage in human history", as Malacca and George Town reflect a mixture of influences which created a unique architecture, culture and townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.
...
Wikipedia