Bussorah Street

Bussorah street is located right next to the Sultan Mosque. It's a pretty short street with shops lined along both sides of the streets. With time, the place has become quite tourist-y as shops sell many souvenirs amongst some cultural goods.

Bussorah Street has 2 sections - one open to vehicles, another only for pedestrians. Both sections are worth a look. Most people spend their time browsing the fascinating souvenir shops at the pedestrian section.

What influence is reflected in Bussorah Street?

The architecture aspect of the building design tells us a lot about the influence in Bussorah Street. The buildings mainly consist of pretty restored shophouses from the colonial era.

The beautiful pastel shophouses on the right are examples of the Early Singapore Shophouse (circa 1840-1900).

Notice the simple lines and lack of ornaments. Presumably, these were built during less wealthy times.

More elaborate than the Early Shophouses, these ones on the left are Second Transitional Shophouses (1930s onwards).

They seem a mixture of European and Asian styles - Malay wooden eaves, Palladine arches, French louvred windows.

What do most of the trades here traditionally cater to and what shops can you still find here?

Most of the shops traded in textiles. We can still find textile shops by retail or wholesale, and Malay Art Gallery selling handicraft items, mainly for tourists looking for souvenirs.

Honestly, I don't really shop along Bussorah Street and I find the stuff they sell they boring and unappealing. But I know for a fact that Malay aunties like my mom likes to look for textiles and shawls/tudungs at this place and then tailor them into traditional costumes for various cultural events like weddings, etc.