Malay Sultanate Water Wheel

Melaka might seem historical enough that you might get tired of seeing so many in one go. However, it would seem that the authorities in Melaka would have none of that. In their effort to make Melaka Malaysia’s number one tourist attraction, they continue to beautify and enhance existing structures. There are some “attractions” which have been recently added, in other cases they have just been spruced up. One of the newest structures here is the reproduction of a Malay Sultanate Water Wheel.

The Malay Sultanate Water Wheel is along the Sungei Melaka near the tourist information booth. It is an admittedly grand structure. It is usuall put in the mouth of fast flowing rivers to provide water to the thousands of traders that graces its shores. I’m not sure whether the wheel actually moves, it wasn’t when I was there. The water wheel is supposedly a showcase of the technological knowhow of the Melaka Sultanate as the technology was also found in great civilizations in China, Middle East and Europe. Deeper still, the wheel symbolizes “the wheel of life and evolution of man’s civilization”. If you can relate that with a water wheel, then I’m impressed.

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