Penang's George Town marks sixth heritage anniversary

Fun with tradition: Kaitlyn Smith from Britain (second from right) and her parents learning to play congkak with a local during the heritage celebrations in Penang. -- PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Fun with tradition: Kaitlyn Smith from Britain (second from right) and her parents learning to play congkak with a local during the heritage celebrations in Penang. -- PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

GEORGE TOWN (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Penang's inner city came alive with various events as George Town marked its 6th Unesco World Heritage Site Anniversary.

The city streets were lined with craft workshops, heritage food stalls and traditional games stalls as tourists and locals swarmed the heritage site and its walking trails.

Among the most visited attractions were the craft workshops along Lebuh Acheh.

Freelance tour guide Melissa Lau found the workshops enlightening as she learnt how to weave pandan leaves.

"I found it very interesting as pandan leaves are used for the roofs of traditional houses. I also found out that it is very hard to maintain and the roofs need to be replaced every now and then.

"This is a dying trade which can rarely be experienced by the younger generation," she said.

Besides the workshops, foreign and local tourists also had the chance to try out an array of traditional Indian Muslim delicacies at the Bazaar Ramadan in Queen Street.

Japanese tourist Miko Uchida was amazed at how roti jala was made.

"The curry is especially flavourful and it goes well with the roti jala."

There was also a lantern-making demonstration, an Islamic calligraphy exhibition, wayang kulit engraving, wood carving and a series of public talks on local cultures.

The heritage celebrations continue on Monday at various heritage sites, including at the Meng Eng Soo Open Day celebration in Jalan Pintal Tali.

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