Jalan Datuk Keramat, George Town, Penang (30 March 2023)
Jalan Dato' Keramat, formerly Dato Kramat Road, is one of the main roads out of George Town, Penang. It starts at the six-point junction formerly called the Magazine Circus, and ends at the start of Ayer Itam Road, at the junction with York Road.
The name Dato Keramat means a Muslim shrine, usually to a holy man or ascetic. It probably refers to a shrine somewhere near Kampung Makam, where there has been a Muslim settlement predating the opening of George Town by Francis Light. This is also mentioned in the book, The Chulia in Penang.1
During those early days, the settlers travelled upriver by boat. Today, however, boat traffic is largely forgotten - the river itself has also gotten too shallow to allow proper navigation. In any case, Dato Kramat Road is now the main artery connecting the inner city of George Town to the outskirts, which until the mid 20th century refers to Ayer Itam.
Today Dato Kramat Road is lined with auxiliary businesses. It has quite a number of lighting shops.
Dato Kramat Road, viewed toward Arulmigu Sri Kamatchi Amman Devasthanam Hindu Temple (25 November 2012)
Dato Kramat Road, Penang (19 March 2010)
Dato Kramat Road (15 December 2008)
Dato Kramat Road, near Siam Road junction (15 December 2008)
Dato Kramat Road stretch known as Kamma Hooi in Hokkien (19 March 2010)
In Other Words ...
Dato Kramat Road is known to the local Hokkiens by various names. The section at Lorong Kulit in front of the Penang Prison is known as Si1 Kham1 Tiam3, or "row of four shophouses". The namesake has since been demolished a long time ago. The section in front of Penang Times Square is known as Kam3ma1 Hnui2 meaning Lime Plantation. As would be expected, the names given are a description of the place as it once was.
Dato Kramat Road stretch known at Si1 Kham1 Tiam3 (15 December 2008)
References
Khoo Salma Nasution, The Chulia in Penang (Areca Books, 2014, p.48)
If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.
Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang
Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.
Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.
About this website
Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.
While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.