A Walk of Harmony

A series of free guided tours along Queen, Waterloo and Bencoolen streets covering seven religious institutions will be launched between Nov 23 and March 31 next year. The Straits Times takes a closer look at some highlights along the trail.

BENCOOLEN LINK C Masjid Bencoolen D Maghain Aboth E Church of Saints Peter A Synagogue and Paul • ’s second oldest mosque, dating back to 1825 • Singapore’s oldest synagogue • A Catholic church initially Sunshine B Fortune • Currently undergoing • Consecrated in 1878 and established to cater speci cally PRINSEP LINKPlaza to the Chinese and Indian PRINSEP STREET Centre progressive renovations started out with 100 community • Founded by settlers from congregants Bencoolen in Indonesia • Open to visitors, but the public • Still conducts masses in will need to register beforehand , although most • Rebuilt into a services are in English Bugis+ mosque-cum-commercial on its website Building’s architecture also BENCOOLEN STREET MIDDLE ROAD MANILA STREET development in the early 2000s • A Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple contains some cross-cultural C • Established in 1884 elements that speak of its Chinese heritage • Buddhist-Taoist temple dedicated to Bencoolen WATERLOO STREET • It is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in station Waterloo Singapore LORONG Centre PAYAH St Joseph’s D Church

E VICTORIA STREET QUEEN STREET National Singapore Library BRAS BASAHArt MuseumROAD F Bras Basah station F Kum Yan Methodist Church G Cathedral of the Good Shepherd • Set up by Cantonese-speaking Christians from • The oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore China in 1918 • Differs from other Catholic churches as it is the G B Sri Krishnan Temple • “Kum Yan” means gratitude in Cantonese seat of the Archbishop, who oversees the Catholic • Moved to Queen Street after the war in 1946 parishes here • Established in the 1870s • Holds services in Cantonese, English and • Built between 1843 and 1847 • Only South Indian in Singapore Mandarin • Gazetted as a national monument on dedicated exclusively to Sri and his June 28, 1973 consort NOTE: Actual trail sequence may vary Source: NATIONAL HERITAGE BOARD PHOTOS: LIANHE ZAOBAO STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS