Nagore Durgha

Nagore Durgha Shrine

The Nagore Durgha (Chinese: 纳宫神社) is a shrine in Singapore built by the Muslims of southern India in 1828-1830, and was originally known as Shahul Hamid Durgha. When this shrine was first built, Telok Ayer Street, where the shrine was located, was a sandy beach crowded with sailing craft. While its physical surroundings has since change, the monument has changed little since the late 19th century. It has a unique blend of Classical and Indian Muslim motifs.

Nagore Durgha was actually built to commemorate a visit to the island by a Muslim holy man of the Chulia people (Muslim merchants and moneylenders from India's Coromandel Coast), who was traveling around Southeast Asia spreading the word of Indian Islam. The land was granted to a certain Kaderpillai in 1827, on condition that it was not to be used for a building of wood and attap.

In 1893, by an order of court, the Nagore Durgha properties came under new trustees who were also appointed for the Masjid Al-Abrar. The building resembles a multi-tiered wedding cake, its sharp arches decorated with intricate moldings. The architectural features of the building blends classical motifs like molded arches and columns with Indian Muslim elements such as perforated grilles at the roof. In 1974, it was gazetted a national monument.

The most interesting visual feature is its facade: Two arched windows flank an arched doorway, with columns in between. Above these is a "miniature palace" -- a massive replica of the facade of a palace, with tiny cutout windows and a small arched doorway in the middle. The cutouts in white plaster make it look like lace. From the corners of the facade, two 14-level minarets rise, with three little domed cutouts on each level and onion domes on top. Inside, the prayer halls and two shrines are painted and decorated in shockingly tacky colors.