Nagore Dargah
Address
140 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068604
Opening Hours
Mon-Fri: 10:00-17:30
Sat: 09:00-1300
Pricing
Children : FreeAdult : Free
Contact
Website
Nearest MRT
Telok Ayer MRT Station
Introduction
This shrine was built by the Chulias, a community of Southern India, between 1828 and 1830. Originally known as Shahul Hamid Durgha and dedicated to the memory of a holy man, Shahul Hamid of Nagore, who had visited Singapore. Unlike most shrines, Nagore Dargah contains no bodily relic of the person it commemorates. On the upper parts of the facade are niches, where oil lamps can be placed within them to illuminate the building on festive days. It wad gazetted as a National Monument in 1974.
A controversy surrounds the date of the shrine's construction. Descendants of the founder claim that the shrine was built much earlier than 1828. According to them, the shrine was in existence before Sir Stamford Raffles arrived in 1819. The first shrine wad made from wood and attap. It was rebuilt in 1815 using limestone, and again in 1818 with materials imported from India. If this is true, it would make Nagore Dargah the oldest religious monument in Singapore.
