Malaysia — Kota Johor Lama Museum, Kampong Johor Lama, 81900 Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia
Looking for the past in Malaysia — not easy
May 2015
Kota Johor Lama Museum was an odd little find and something that I was not expecting on my drive east of Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
The museum was free to enter and contained the remains of the Old Johor Fort, as well as displays describing local history and culture.
The fort was built in 1540 during the reign of Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah II (1528–1564). The fort, as far as I could tell from the information available at the museum, was built in response to the fall of the Malay Sultanate of Malacca to the Portuguese in 1511. The main function of the fort was to defend the Sungai Johor (Johor River) and to supervise the movement of ships up and down the river.
The fort was eventually captured by the Portuguese in 1587 and destroyed.
Commemorative stone at Kota Johor Lama (Johor Fort).
The stone reads:
“Old Johor Fort
