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| fika, a Swedish café |
The image Arab Street & Haji Lane conjures up nowadays is vastly different from the trading centre of the past. Cafés such as this one have sprung up in the area, bringing in a large array of exotic cuisines – Swedish, Turkish, Indian, etcetera. It may seem all very well for cosmopolitan Singapore, but in fact dilutes the nature of the Malay culture and history here by gradually crowding Malay and Arabic businesses out of the area.
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| A carpet shop run by two Middle-Eastern men |
This man here is the owner of a carpet shop in Arab Street. Shops there still mainly deal in fabrics and carpets, reminiscent of Middle Eastern trade and Muslim apparel sold there in the past. Ethnic Arab goods such as rattan products and non-alcoholic perfumes are also popular, along with a shisha, an Arabic tobacco smoked through a hookah. Compared to Haji Lane, Arab Street is still relatively in tune with its historical roots, even preserving the oldest sign in the area – a Mentos shop sign!
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| The old Mentos sign (top-right of photo) |
Just one street down, the atmosphere is a drastic one-eighty. Perhaps one of the most notable aspects of the current Kampong Glam, particularly Haji Lane, is the graffiti rampant throughout the small alleys. It has become somewhat of a permanent fixture in the area, turning Haji Lane into an experimental art space that creates a hipster subculture youths identify with easily.
Independent boutiques and offbeat labels like these have also emerged as part of the quirky youth subculture, rapidly earning a shopping district label for Haji Lane. Problem is, with the use of these shophouses for upscale, modern boutiques, all cultural significance of the architecture are somewhat lost on the shoppers and tourists that have now come to constitute most part of visitors to the area.
Like in the pictures shown above, opulence and youthful style seem to characterize the interior designs of shops in the area, a stark contrast to the architecture’s opulence of a different kind – historical.
Probably the most well-preserved aspect of Arab Street & Haji Lane’s unique history is the architecture. Despite the interior changing, the exteriors retain the trademark style of traditional shophouses from the late 1800s to early 1900s. Known as the Early Shophouse Style and First Transitional Shophouse Style, these two-storey buildings are characterized by two to three windows on the upper floor, and the simple ornamentation, if any. These two styles are considered the earliest in Singapore, signifying the age-old practice of trading, adopted when Singapore first began to flourish as a small island and trading port. Naturally, this constitutes a major physical aspect of our history.
However, this physical similarity remains merely that – physical. The atmosphere of the area has been largely altered to fit the demands of a modern audience, to ensure that its trendy vibe attracts youths. Kampong Glam has almost completely lost its quiet ambience and Malay lifestyle.
