Terengganu Inscription Stone

Memorial Batu Bersurat is located at Kuala Berang (around 3 km from Kuala Berang town).. The stone proved that Islam had reached Terengganu around year 13xx i.e about 700 years ago.  It was found here at the Kuala Berang riverbank somewhere around 1899. However, we can only find the replica of the stone here. According to the locals, the real inscribed stone is now placed at the State Museum in Kuala Terengganu,.   
HISTORY INSCRIBED STONE OF TERENGGANU                                        
After the flood, the villagers found a huge stone at the mouth of Sungai Teresat. The villagers then shifted the stone to a mosque at Kampung Buluh in Kuala Berang. The Batu Bersurat, Terengganu or Inscribed Stone of Terengganu constitutes the earliest evidence of Jawi writing  in the Malaya Muslim world of Southeast Asia. The Stone is a testimony to the spread of Islam offering an insight to the life of the people of the era as well as depicting the growing Islamic culture subsumed under a set of religious laws.
  . The Islamic Inscription on the Inscribed Stone of Terengganu is a profound statement of Terengganu's Islamic Past. The Stone, which dates as far back as the early 14th Century, is known to be the earliest piece of inscription in Malay using the Jawi script which states Islam as the official religion of Terengganu, along with an Islamic law guide pertaining to misdeeds and sanctions.
The artifact proves that Islam reached Terengganu earlier than 1326 or 1386. It was accidentally discovered near Teresat River at Kuala Berang, Terengganu, Malaysia by an Arab trader named Sayid Husin bin Ghulam al-Bokhari in 1899 after a flash flood hit Kuala Berang.
 In 1902, a gold and tin miner named Syed Hussain bin Ghulam Al Bukhari from Riau - Lingga and Engku Pengiran Anum arrived at Kuala Berang. They saw the inscribed stone and brought it back to Kuala Terengganu where they presented it to Sultan Zainal Abidin, who was then the Sultan of Terengganu. Sultan Zainal Abidin kept the inscribed stone from many years as no one understood the Jawi writings that was inscribed on the stone. Thus an Englishman who was working in Terengganu send photographs of the inscribed stone to history language specialists in Singapore and London. In the end, the inscriptions on the stone was able to be read clearly.
 The inscribed stone weighed about 215 kilograms, 84 centimeters in height, 53 centimeters wide at the top and 27 centimeters wide at the bottom. The thickness of the stone is 24 centimeters and is made of granite which cannot be easily broken. The inscriptions are in Arabic - Malay believed to be written on the 22nd February 1303. Among the inscriptions on the stone are the ten Islamic laws and their punishments. With the discovery of this stone, historians felt that Islam has reached Terengganu before the 14th century. The inscribed stone also proved that a government existed in Terengganu long before Melaka was founded. Even after Melaka was founded, Kuala Terengganu still remained an important port

Turtles Sanctuary

In the 1960's, Rantau Abang Beach in the district of Dungun was made famous for being one of the six hatching sites in the world for giant leatherback turtles. Due to a number of factors that leads to the dwindling number of turtle landings each year, the State government has taken conservation effort by setting up turtle research and hatching sites in selected areas in the district of Dungun, Setiu, Kemaman as well in the islands of Redang, Bidong, Perhentian and Kapas. There has been an increase in the number of turtle landings especially Green and Hawksbill turtles in Pantai Ma Daerah in Paka, Dungun and in Pantai Teluk Mak Nik in Kemaman. There's a Turtle Information Centre in Rantau Abang, Dungun for those who like to know about turtles. There is also an Aquatic Bio-Diversity Gallery at Turtle & Marine Ecology Centre within the vicinity of Turtle Information Centre where there are displays of marine life species, sea shells, replicas of marine life and marine information.

Pesta Main Pantai - Terengganu

                               KUALA TERENGGANU, May 27 (Bernama) -- The Terengganu government will revive
the beach festival called "Pesta Main Pantai", which was synonymous with the
local community before.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said said this festival could be a platform
to promote and bring glory to the local arts, culture and heritage to draw more
tourists to the state.
He said the festival was a traditional event held since the 1970s, but its
popularity had increasingly waned in the era of rapid modernisation.
"We will plan various activities in reviving this festival," he said after
officiating at the Pesta Pantai Terengganu, here, today.
Ahmad said the Pesta Main Pantai was a kind of gathering for farmers and
their families each year by the beach to relax after the tiring chore of
harvesting padi.
He said at the event, there would be traditional games and traditional song
and dance performances, handicraft display and sales, and traditional cuisine,
which would all be revived.
The 10-day Pesta Pantai Terengganu held at Dataran Shahbandar, here, will
end on June 3.

Terengganu Delights - Lite Home Bake

You might have come across some specialties from the states of Malaysia in the blogsphere the past few months, I think this is the 3rd month if I am not mistaken.   An online event, the Malaysian Food Fest that aims to introduce culinary specialties from the 14 states in the country is ongoing and October is Terengganu month and hosted by Lena of Frozen Wings.   An event worth following, you will get to know many mouth-watering dishes, after all eating is known as one of our favorite pastimes :)

Before this, it was always the beautiful sandy, crystal clear beaches that comes to mind whenever this state is mentioned.   Then comes the Keropok Lekor and Nasi Dagang, now I know there are so many more!  Intrigued by  dishes shared by Phong Hong of Phong Hong Bakes, with recipes coming from  her family's heirloom,  I tried 2 of her recipes Kay Hong and Kay Pachok.   Hints of Nyonya influence from the name of the dishes and the ingredient list was the other thing that caught my attention.

I first tried the Kay Hong which means Braised Chicken in Hokkien.   The original recipe calls for a mixture of chicken and pork belly.  Unfortunately, I only had pork ribs and belly on the night that I chose to try out the recipe, so it was pork ribs instead :)  I am not sure if this twist will deem it unacceptable for submission to the event.  Anyway, it turned out delicious.

This other dish is Kay Pachok, Kay like Kay in 'Kay Hong' means Chicken in Hokkien and as for Pachok, it's the Terengganu Malay dialect for skewer, so it's Chicken on Skewers when put together.  Similar to Satay, another meat on skewers specialty but the spices used are different and this one is lightly steamed before hitting the grill.

Culinary (Food paradise by the Sea)

Due to its geographical location and historical background, Terengganu cuisine displays a strong influence of Thai, Chinese and Indian cuisines. Dining out in Terengganu is relatively inexpensive and there are always plenty of choices ranging from hotels to hawker stalls. With endless variety of delicious temptations available day or night in Terengganu, your taste buds may need to work overtime to savour it all. The cuisine of Terengganu, an east coast state of Peninsular Malaysia, is distinctively memorable for its fresh ingredients, inimitable spices and unique flavours.

Kak Yah Keropok Lekor @ Losong

Keropok is cracker made of fish which is ground to a paste then mixed with sago before it is steamed and later deep fried. It is the snack instead of a proper meal and sometimes is served as the snack before meal.
Keropok is easily found elsewhere in Kuala Terengganu, from the stalls beside the road to restaurants or market. If you wish to bring home some, go to the Central Market for dried keropok or fresh in Losong who is famous with largest Museum in Malaysia and its keropok.
Kak Yah’s stall is the most popular at Losong, prof of that is Kak Yah magnificents house located next to her stall. (Information from Terengganu tourism)It can be eaten either when it is steamed or deep fried, both give different taste. The long chewy ones are called keropok lekor while the thin crispy are called keping, means slice. Both the keropok is usually eaten with chili dip.Kak Yah’s stall is so famous that they came out with come commercialize packeted specialties from Terengganu, such as ready to eat keropok, salted fish and dry sate fish.Pictures are stricly prohibited beyond the processing area. They used to process and pack the keropoks at a small corner of the store front. Now that they have gain their fame and expanded so much, they shall keep the procedures and processes to themselves. Keropok can almost resembles terengganu now, let it be fried lekor or steamed lekor, white coloured lekor or gray coloured lekor.

Monsoon Cup Terengganu

The Monsoon Cup is the finale of the prestigious World Match Racing Tour international sailing circuit, and the Tour’s first Asian venue. It debut in 2005, and has place Pulau Duyong, Terengganu on the world sailing map, attracting the world’s top ranked sailors to compete in this prestigious event. This annual event is broadcast over 183 countries which highlight Terengganu as one of the challenging venue with world class marina facilities.
Pulau Duyong has gained worldwide fame for its boat building industry and is now the host for the international yacht race event under the Swedish Match Tour. There side events held in conjunction with the Monsoon Cup to showcase Terengganu's rich arts, culture and heritage.

Rantau Abang, Terengganu

In the 1960’s and 1970’, Pantai Rantau Abang was made famous for being one of the six hatching sites in the world for giant leatherback turtles. Visitors from all over the world gathered here from May to September every year to just to experience the unique and amazing moment. The turtle travels all the way to as far as Pacific Ocean and swims across to Pantai Rantau Abang to lay their eggs on the long stretch of the beach.
The number of turtles had dwindled due to a number of factors such as the illegal use of drag nets in the prohibited zones and indiscriminate disposal of plastic bags (plastic bags looks like jellyfish which is a part of turtle’s food). There are foreign fishermen who catch turtles for its meat and shells used to make souvenir items. These are a few contributing factors that led to the dwindling number of turtle landings in most part of the world. From the late 1980’s up until 2000, the Fisheries Department records the lessen number of landings. Now conservation efforts are undertaken by the state government in doing research on the turtles’ conservation and setting up turtle hatchery sites.
Situated 22 km north of Dungun town and 80 km south of Kuala Terengganu, Rantau Abang was the most talked about tourist spot in Terengganu which associates the branding of Terengganu as a tourist destination. Local villagers believed that the giant leatherback turtles are attracted to Rantau Abang every year because of the presence of a large rock formation resembling a giant turtle. However, the local believe that the turtles are attracted by two giant turtle stones (Batu Penyu) one lies between the bushes on a little hill in the village off the coast and another submerged underwater. The mysterious stone on the hill is accessible by a 30 minutes short walk passing through the village. There is sign board along the way or you may get a villager to bring you there. Whereas the other one is covered by sand and water and is not visible any more. For more information on turtles, there is a Turtle Information Centre managed by the Department of Fisheries at Rantau Abang.
How To Get HereBy Car:
To reach Rantau Abang from Kuala Lumpur, take the New East Coast Highway heading towards Kuantan, Pahang. Then head north towards Kuala Terengganu. As you drive along the road, you will see a large gateway portal that says you've entered the state of Terengganu. Drive until you reach Dungun town. Around 18km north of Dungun, you'll reach Rantau Abang.

Pantai Batu Burok

Pantai Batu Burok, unlike its name, is undoubtedly breathtaking with white sandy beaches and swaying casuarinas lining up behind the shore. Located just outside downtown Kuala Terengganu, there are plenty of road signs that will lead you straight to this beach, arguably the most famous beach in Terengganu.

On windy days, kite flying on the beach is a very popular activity. Apart from that, there are plenty of non-water-based sports activities that you can take part in such as regular beach soccer in the evening, volleyball, sepak takraw, beach soccer, netball and others. 

Swimming is not allowed here as it is rather dangerous due to the strong waves and the fact that the beach faces the open South China Sea. Horse riding for a fee is also a common sight here during the weekends and for the young ones, there is a playground nearby (and ice-cream man too!).

Crystal Mosque

The Crystal Mosque or Masjid Kristal is a mosque in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia. The mosque is located at Islamic Heritage Park on the island of Wan Man. The mosque was constructed between 2006 and 2008. It was officially opened on 8 February 2008 by 13th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu.

However, in a newspaper report of Bernama, on October 26th 2008, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi commented on this building having Chinese characteristics and called on the people to not be cynical about these types of mosques and focus more on the teachings of Islam. He said this because of concern on the Malay people not wanting to share mosque characteristics with the Muslim-Chinese people.

 The Crystal Mosque the natural beauty of Kuala Terengganu Malaysia combines perfectly with the themed landscaped gardens that link one theme environment to the city. Stay for a day or for a while, visit one attraction or many, and celebrate in style at the wedding centre. Visit the unique Crystal Mosque, or take time to journey through the exquisite miniature monuments of the Islamic world, windows of Islam.