Ever since I was 10, I had wanted to go to Maqam Sultan Iskandar Shah after reading about it in the Malay textbook in Primary 4. I asked my mom several times where Fort Canning was and whether I could go visit the maqam. I remembered asking for years, and finally I forgot about it. Ten years ago, when I worked at TheatreWorks which was located at Fort Canning, I wanted to visit, but ran away when I saw an old man who was probably the caretaker there. Haha. At that time it was very early in the morning, and we were told numerous ghost stories about Fort Canning so I freaked out. Fort Canning used to be a burial site for the kings and for Christians too.

Today, I finally went to the maqam. From more than 500 meters away, I can smell a sweet scent. I had forgotten all about what I read about the sultan, but the caretaker explained to me the history. He was pretty passionate about the maqam. In fact, so much so that he insisted that is the maqam of the sultan, without a doubt. "It is not an empty maqam, as some claimed - he was actually buried there," he said. "Let them stay here at the maqam for one night, and see whether it is empty." Hmmm. Years ago, the graves of 7 others had been removed, but once they tried to remove the maqam, they failed. Just like Maqam Habib Noh. The pigeons were there too. Wallahua'lam. But I felt presence there just like some other maqams. The maqam had in fact, been visited by the descendants of Sunan Ampel, some kings from Malaysia and David Blaine, among others.Even Prof Hadijah claims it is the original grave according to available sources.

Near the maqam is a fountain, which was the king's original fountain from back in 14th century, but the fountain has now been closed from the public.