Melaka and George Town: cities built by trade

For more than 500 years, ships riding the monsoon winds met in the Straits of Malacca, carrying spices, textiles and tea between East and West.

Melaka and George Town grew from that trade. Malay, Chinese, Indian and European communities each left their mark in shophouses, temples, mosques and churches standing side by side.

In 2008 UNESCO inscribed both cities together as a World Heritage Site, recognising them as living records of multicultural trading towns — and the food on their streets tells the same story.