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George Town[1] (less commonly also spelt Georgetown,[2]) is the capital of the state of Penang in Malaysia. Named after Britain's King George III, George Town is located on the north-east corner of Penang Island. The inner city has a population of 720,202 and the metropolitan area known as George Town Conurbation which consists of Penang Island, Seberang Prai, Sungai Petani and Kulim has a combined population of 2,251,042, making it the second largest metropolitan area in Malaysia.[3]

Formerly a municipality and then a city in its own right, since 1976 George Town has been part of the Municipality of Penang Island, though the area formerly governed by the City Council of George Town is still commonly referred to as a city. George Town is also known as Tanjung ("The Cape") in Malay, 乔治市 (Qiáozhì Shì) in Chinese and ஜோர்ஜ் டவுன் (Georgetown) in Tamil. Its Malay name is derived from the older name of the town, Tanjung Penaga ("Cape Penaigre").

The inner city of George Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. George Town was founded on 11 August 1786 by Captain Francis Light, a trader for the British East India Company, as base for the company in the Malay States. He obtained the island of Penang from the Sultan of Kedah and built Fort Cornwallis on the north-eastern corner of the island. The fort became the nexus of a growing trading post and the island's population reached 12,000 by 1804.[citation needed]

The town was built on swampy land that had to be cleared of vegetation, levelled and filled. The original commercial town was laid out between Light Street, Beach Street (then running close to the seashore), Malabar Street (subsequently called Chulia Street) and Pitt Street (now called Masjid Kapitan Keling Street).

The warehouses and godowns extended from Beach Street to the sea. By the 1880s, there were ghauts leading from Beach Street to the wharf and jetties as Beach Street receded inland due to land reclamation. A new waterfront was created at Weld Quay, where commercial buildings sprang up.

The historic commercial centre was segmented into the banking and trading areas related to port activities which included shipping companies, the import and export trade, and the wholesalers who dominate the southern section of Beach Street until now. It has been listed as a World Heritage site since July 2008.[4]

At the turn of the 19th century, the northern section of Beach Street and the adjacent Bishop Street were the ‘high street’ where the ‘modern’ European emporium and stores selling imported merchandise were situated.

Among the early foreign companies that located their offices on Beach Street were the Netherlands Trading Society, the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), the Chartered Bank, Boustead & Co., Guthne & Co., Caldbeck & Macgregor, Behn Meyer, Sandilands & Buttery, G.H. Slot and the stores of Pritchard & Co., Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co., and others. Among the local businesses that were established here during this period were H.M. Nooradin, Tiang Lee & Co., Guan Lee Hin Steamship, Tye Sin Tat, Pinang Sales Room, Koe Guan and others. Penang’s first petroleum lamps were installed on this section of Beach Street by Huttenbach & Co..

PERAK KKangsar 50km distance of Ipoh

Istana Kenangan was built entirely wood by Malay carpenter Enci Sepian from Bukit Mertajam in 1926 under royal command of His Royal Highness Sultan Iskandar Shah (1918-1938) The museum building, was a temporary palace in 1931-1933 while the large and permanent Istana Iskandariah was under construction. After the Sultan moved into the new Istana Iskandariah, this temporary palace continued to be used for special royal occasions.

http://www.perak.info/Kuala_Kangsar/Royal_Museum_Kuala_Kangsar.htm

Its architecture is traditional Malay and is most unique as it is the only one of its kind in the country. Fine wooden carvings and woven wall-mats enhance the beauty and uniqueness of this beautiful wooden building. It rests on 60 wooden pillars and is 42 metres long and 11metres wide. The shape is representative of a sword in its scabbard when viewed from above. r being built entirely of wood, without the use of nails. It was planned to shape like a sword (pedang) in its scabbard (sarung pedang). The handle of the sword is where the Sultan's bedchamber is located. The scabbard is where the royal court or Balai Rong Seri was located. Although small, it has a beautiful throne (singgahsana). The walls are made of diamond-shaped plaits (kelarai) while the roof structure takes the combined styles of the five ridges (perabung lima) and the ridge of the five bananas (perabung pisang sesikat).

http://www.asiaexplorers.com/malaysia/istana_kenangan.htm