Terengganu Darul Iman

Terengganu Visitor Information

Terengganu Darul Iman is a state on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Often spelled Trengganu, it is a state facing the South China Sea. It also shares a border with Kelantan to the northwest and Pahang to the southwest. The Arabic honorific Darul Iman attached to the official title of the state means "Abode of Faith", and in a sense reflects the state's Islamic grounding. Kuala Terengganu, at at the mouth of the broad Terengganu River is the state and royal capital as well as the largest city in Terengganu.

Terengganu Travel Guide Useful details about Terengganu, including how to get there, where to stay, what to see, and so on. Terengganu Tourist Attractions Here's a useful list of the tourist attractions, sights and places of interest in Terengganu, arranged in alphabetical order. Towns in Terengganu Detailed listing of the towns and villages in Terengganu. Districts of Terengganu Get to know Terengganu district by district History of Terengganu Learn a bit about Terengganu's history.

Map of Terengganu

 Major destinations in Terengganu
 towns, villages and places of interest in Terengganu
I mark out the sights in Terengganu on the map below, adding new ones to it as I write about them.


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Getting to know Terengganu

According to popular belief, the origin of the name Terengganu is attributed to terang ganu, Malay for 'bright rainbow'. Another theory, based on narration attributed to the ninth Sultan of Terengganu, Baginda Omar, tells of a party of hunters from Pahang roving and hunting in the area of what is now southern Terengganu. One of the hunters spotted a big animal fang lying on the ground. A fellow party member asked to which animal did the fang belong. The hunter, not knowing which animal, simply answered "fang of something" which in Malay, is taring anu. The party later returned to Pahang with a rich hoard of game, fur and sandalwood, which impressed their neighbors. They asked the hunters where did they source their riches, to which they replied, from the land of taring anu, which later evolved into Terengganu.

The traditional Malay name for Terengganu has been dingjianu in Pinyin, a direct transliteration of the Malay name. However, in recent years, the Chinese community in Terengganu has raised objections to the name, citing that the name loosely translates to "giving birth to a child who will become a slave". They successfully petitioned the regulatory commission for Chinese language in Malaysia to change the Chinese name for the state to dengjialou, which can be loosely translated to "aspiring/stepping up to a higher level", in September 2004. It is worth noting, however, that the new name has been in unofficial use by the state's Chinese society for at least 30 years before its official adoption.

There are certain segments of the Chinese society who opposed to the name change, citing the fact that the new name contains too many character strokes, making it much more difficult to write. They have proposed to revert the name back to the version used before 2004, but with the word "slavery", which was mainly the cause of the controversy) to the similar sounding, but more positive "perseverance".

Terengganu Today

Although Terengganu is one of the East Coast states, which many on the West Coast regard as slow-moving and conservative, in reality there is a lot to see and enjoy in the state. It has long stretches of beautiful unspoilt beaches, and the islands offshore are jewels in crystal clear waters. Terengganu also has the biggest museum in Southeast Asia, and as a state with a predominant Muslim population, it has beautiful mosques with architectural styles from various periods. I hope that my website will do justice to everything that this state has to offer, and after browsing this website, hopefully you will feel like setting off to explore Terengganu.

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