Street of Fabric: Arab Street, Singapore

The entire street is practically a row of shophouses dedicated to the fabric world, and house batik shops, kebaya shops, fabric & apparel sellers, bridal gown specialists, Persian carpet sellers, tailors, and crafts and souvenir shops!

Arab Street in Kampong Glam is located in a central urban location in Singapore. The Kampong Glam enclave was traditionally the seat of the Malay Sultan and the Malay community in prewar days. Arab Street has played an important role in catering to the needs of the local citizens and is still traditionally one of the main places to go to buy attire, cloths and fabrics.

One of the draws of this place is of course batik which caters to a wide range of customers’ tastes and profiles – from beautiful hand drawn unsewn tulis pieces to cap or stamped varities of sarongs, to batik shirts, and souveniers and home accesories from tissue holders, coasters, key-chain holders, hankerchiefs all made from batik or batik-inspired arts.

Today, Arab Street draws tourists as much as the locals. The area and its vicinity (including names like Bussorah Street, Muscat Street and Haji Lane) is also a popular tourist area as the historic Sultan Mosque, the old former Istana (Sultan’s palace), and the Yellow House (now a restaurant and a favourite venue for Malay weddings), and many old prewar shops still grace the area.

Besides fabrics and clothings, the street and the nearby areas also serve a wide range of cuisine and delicacies, from Arab, Turkish, Persian, Mediterranean, Indian and of course traditional Malay cuisine.

This being the Ramadhan month whereby Muslims fast daily from sunrise till sunset for one month, the atmosphere here has taken on a festive feel. Shoppers get ready to celebrate the coming Eid ul-Fitr festival (known here as Hari Raya Puasa) looking around for handwoven carpets from the Middle East, fabrics and also ready-made clothings and accesories such as the traditional ladies and girls clothings of baju kurung, baju kebaya, kain sarung while the men and boys look for their outfits of baju Melayu, songket, songkok, etc. Tailors and fabrics & clothes are enjoying a brisk trade during this time.

If you happen to be in Singapore, do come and visit this street of fabric and enjoy the sights and sounds..