Armenian Street, George Town

EarthDocumentary World Budget Travel Guide

Compare Hotel Room Rates from different Booking Sites

Lebuh Armenian

Armenian Street is a street in the inner city of George Town and within the core zone of the Unesco World Heritage Site. It derives its name from a Armenian family that had its home at the junction of the now Armenian Street and Beach Street in the early part of the 19th century. The Armenians had arrived in Penang by way of India. By 1822, they had established their church, the Armenian Church of St Gregory, which was located when Bangunan Mayban Trust standing today. It was some eleven years older than the Armenian Church of St Gregory in Singapore. It was demolished around 1937, by which time most of the Armenians had packed up and left Penang.

In the earlier days, Armenian Street was known as Malay Lane. This is due to the presence of a Malay settlement, which can still be seen today with such monuments as the Acheen Street Mosque and Penang Islamic Museum in that vicinity.

Armenian Street developed more and more a Chinese appearance as Chinese traders moved into the area from the turn of the 20th century. Clan temples such as Cheah Kongsi, Yap Kongsi and Khoo Kongsi were established either on or within a stone's throw of Armenian Street. Traders and merchants of these clans helped to finance the mining of tin in the Larut district of Perak, which resulted in much prosperity flowing into the Armenian Street area from the 1860s right through to the early 20th century.

Getting there

From Weld Quay Bus Terminal, turn left and walk along Pengkalan Weld until you reach the junction of Gat Lebuh Armenian (Armenian Street Ghaut) to your right. Enter Gat Lebuh Armenian and follow it all the way until the junction of Lebuh Pantai. Armenian Street (Lebuh Armenian) is located across Lebuh Pantai.

Sights along Armenian Street

Penang Islamic Museum

Sun Yat Sen Penang Base (120 Armenian Street)

Yap Kongsi

Choo Chay Keong Temple

Cheah Kongsi

Nearby Sights

Khoo Kongsi

Acheen Street Mosque

Penang Tourism Information Centre

Click for list of Streets of George Town

In Other Words ...

In Hokkien: Pak Thang'a Kay (Coppersmith Street), between the junction of Lebuh Acheh to the junction of Lebuh Cannon;
Pun Thau Kong Hang (Tua Pek Kong's Alley), between the junction of Lebuh Cannon and Lebuh Pantai

Armenian Street Location Map

Photos of Armenian Street

Armenian Street sign (12 November 2008)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Armenian Street plaque (12 November 2008)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Get the best rates when booking Penang hotels

Before booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?

The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations!

Find a hotel

New York City
Bangkok
Amsterdam

Guests:

Rooms:

Great Travel Deals Wego.com

Flight Checker

Our Flight Checker helps travelers compare flights and get the lowest fare for their trips. If you're flying somewhere, use our Flight Checker to compare the rates from different airlines. To use it, enter where you will be flying from, where you will be flying to, your departure date and return date. Select the number of passengers, and then click search.

Our engine will return you a list of possible flights that you can take. You can compare the fare of different airlines for your trip. Click on your selected airline, and we transfer you to the airline website.

Return to Penang Travel Tips homepage

My message introducing God to all the world: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO TIM

Penang Travel Tips is researched and written by Timothy Tye, universally known as Tim. The text is the copyright of Timothy Tye, and may not be copied for commercial use or re-published in another website without the author's permission. Information provided is in goodwill and is believed to be correct and up-to-date at time of writing. Photographs on this website are the copyright of the author and may not be reused without prior permission. For commercial licensing of photographs, read the licensing terms.