Pulau Penyengat: a sultanate in the strait

Pulau Penyengat is a two-square-kilometre island in the strait off Tanjung Pinang, and for a brief period in the nineteenth century it was the capital of the Riau-Lingga Sultanate. The British and Dutch fought over the region, the sultanate negotiated and schemed, and the island became a centre of Malay letters, religion and politics.

What remains is remarkable for its size: a great yellow mosque, the tombs of sultans and scholars, the foundations of the palace, and a village of stilt houses where people still live. The crossing from Tanjung Pinang takes ten minutes, and you can walk the whole island in half a day. It is the most atmospheric place in the Riau Islands.

The mosque and its history

The Masjid Raya Sultan Riau is the island's emblem, painted yellow and crowned with a tiered roof that mixes Malay, Arab and Chinese influences. It was built in the early nineteenth century, and the story goes that egg whites were mixed into the mortar, which is why the walls have held for so long. Whether or not the story is true, the building is beautiful and still in use.

Dress modestly and take your shoes off before you go in. The interior is cool and plain, with columns, a mihrab and a minbar, and the light comes through small windows. Outside, the courtyard has old cannons and a well, and the view across the strait to Bintan is the best on the island.

Tombs, palace and the poet

The tombs of the sultans and their families are scattered around the island, some in walled enclosures, some under trees. The most visited is the grave of Raja Ali Haji, the nineteenth-century scholar who wrote the Gurindam Dua Belas, a set of twelve moral verses that is still taught in Malaysian and Indonesian schools.

Nearby are the foundations of the istana, the palace, and the remains of a fort. None of it is grand; the island is small and the buildings are modest. But the combination of the mosque, the tombs and the village, all within a short walk, gives a stronger sense of a vanished court than a museum would.

The village and the lanes

People live on Penyengat, and the village is part of the experience. Stilt houses line the shore and the lanes, with fishing boats tied up below and chickens in the yards. There are a few simple cafes and shops, and a small museum, but no hotels worth the name. It is a place to walk, slowly, and to look.

Ask before photographing people, and dress modestly in the village as well as the mosque. The island is conservative and the rules are simple: cover shoulders and knees, keep your voice down near the tombs, and do not walk into people's yards for a picture. It is a lived-in place, not a theme park.

Getting there and back

Boats leave from the jetty in Tanjung Pinang throughout the day, whenever they have enough passengers. The crossing is short but the boats are small and open, and you may get wet. Agree the fare before you board, and ask what time the last boat returns; it is usually late afternoon, and missing it means a long wait or an expensive charter.

Take water, a hat and cash: there is no ATM on the island and the cafes do not take cards. Half a day is enough for the mosque, the tombs and a walk, but the island is at its best in the early morning, before the heat and the groups arrive. Combine it with a seafood lunch on the pelantar back in Tanjung Pinang.

• Go early; the island is exposed and hot by midday.
• Dress modestly for the mosque and the village.
• Agree the boat fare and the return time before boarding.
• Bring cash; there is no ATM on Penyengat.
• Combine with seafood on the Tanjung Pinang pelantar.

Malay letters and the Gurindam

Raja Ali Haji was born in 1808, the son of a Bugis viceroy, and he spent much of his life on Penyengat. He was a scholar, historian and poet, and he is credited with helping to standardise Malay as a written language at a time when the court, the mosque and the trading houses all needed a common prose.

His best-known work is the Gurindam Dua Belas, twelve short sections of moral instruction written in 1847. The verses cover religion, conduct, the duties of rulers and the education of children, and they are still recited in Malaysia and Indonesia. He also wrote the Tuhfat al-Nafis, a history of the Malay world that remains a key source for the period.

For visitors, the literary connection is the reason Penyengat feels like more than a pretty island. School groups come to see the grave, scholars come to see the mosque, and everyone else comes for the atmosphere. If you read one thing before you go, read a few lines of the Gurindam; it makes the lanes and the tombs feel less like ruins and more like a place where people argued about how to live.

Questions people actually ask

What is Pulau Penyengat known for?

The island was the capital of the Riau-Lingga Sultanate in the nineteenth century, and it is known for the yellow Masjid Raya Sultan Riau, the royal tombs, the grave of the scholar Raja Ali Haji and its village of stilt houses. It is the most historic place in the Riau Islands.

How long should you spend on Penyengat?

Half a day is enough to see the mosque, the tombs, the palace foundations and the village at an easy pace. Go in the morning, when it is cooler and quieter, and return to Tanjung Pinang for a late lunch on the waterfront.