Page 23 - Sphere No.25 (Aug 2009)

Sphere 21
OUGH TIME
holding its own, and its attractions remain among the best rea-
sons to visit the city. The lovely old waterfront with its wind-
ing tree-lined Praia was lost years ago to land reclamation, and
many of the elegant colonial style buildings of the old town have
given way to more modern structures, but China and the West
have met and mingled in Macau for almost half a millennium,
and the fruits of that multi-faceted and fascinating interaction
have not disappeared overnight.
“For me, Macau is the best city of Asia, where the hospital-
ity of the people is present at all times. Much in Macau has
changed, but much remains the same,” says Antonio Coelho,
chef-proprietor of Antonio Restaurant on Taipa, who is one of
the best known of Macau’s Portuguese restaurateurs.
“There are still areas of Macau, particularly out on the islands,
where the old way of life has been preserved, and right here
you can certainly find authentic Portuguese cuisine and wine.
It’s what many people who live here like, and what many others
have been coming here for over many, many years. A whole cul-
ture doesn’t simply disappear overnight. In Macau, you can find
the mix of cultures and religions that made Macau unique.”
In 2005 the Historic Centre of Macau was designated a
UNESCO World Heritage Site, with UNESCO stating that
“with its historic street, residential and religious and public
Portuguese and Chinese buildings, the historic centre provides
a unique testimony to the meeting of aesthetic, cultural, archi-
tectural and technological influences from East and West.”
There are still areas of Macau where it is possible to get a truly
vivid sense of the city’s long and colourful history, and many of
them are within fairly easy walking distance of each other.
Perhaps the best starting point is theA-Ma Temple, fromwhich
the city takes its name. There has been a temple on this site in the
Porto Interior, or Inner Harbour, dedicated to A-Ma, a Chinese
deity thought to protect seafarers, since the 15th century. When
the Portuguese landed and asked the name of the place they were
told “the Bay of A-Ma”, in Cantonese “A-Ma Gao”. Over time the
name contracted to Macau or sometimes Macao.
For an insight into Macau’s history of maritime trade it is only
necessary to cross the road to the Museu Maritimo which puts
Macau’s Portuguese and Chinese seafaring history nicely into
perspective. After that you could flag a taxi to the Guia Fortress
Counter clockwise from top right:
The Largo do Senado, or
Senate Square, is the focal point
of the city’s Historic Centre;
Macau’s ever-changing cityscape
and the city’s famous egg tarts
Macau, a city where the
old and new happily co-exist
By Robin Lynam