The golden domes of Masjid Sultan crown Kampong Glam, where Sultan Hussein’s household once lived alongside Arab, Bugis and Javanese traders.
Kampong Glam probably takes its name from the gelam tree, whose bark was used for sails and awnings. The 1822 town plan set land aside here for the Arab community, and the quarter was gazetted for conservation on 7 July 1989. Bussorah Street, heart of the old Kampong Kaji, or Pilgrim Village, where hajj pilgrims lodged while waiting for ships, leads straight to the mosque.
Masjid Sultan’s present building, by Denis Santry of Swan & Maclaren, was finished in 1932; a band of glass bottle ends, donated by poorer worshippers, rings the base of each dome. Nearby, the Malay Heritage Centre reopened in the Istana Kampong Gelam on 25 April 2026. Arab Street keeps its textile shops, and Haji Lane its boutiques, bars and murals.
