A-Ma Temple

This is where the story of Macao begins, not in a grand colonial palace or a European cathedral, but in a Chinese temple clinging to the boulders of a hillside above the sea. The A-Ma Temple is the oldest temple in Macao, dating back to 1488, and it is widely believed to be the very place that gave the city its name. The story goes like this. When Portuguese sailors first arrived at this bay in the 1550s, they asked the local fishermen what this place was called. The fishermen, thinking the strangers were asking about the temple, replied with the name of the goddess worshipped here, A-Ma, or more precisely, the bay of A-Ma, A-Ma Gao. The Portuguese heard this and adapted it into their own language as Macau. Whether or not the legend is precisely accurate, it captures something essential about this city. Macao was Chinese long before it was Portuguese, and this temple is living proof. The temple is dedicated to Mazu, the goddess of the sea and the protector of fishermen and sailors. For centuries, the fishing communities along the southern Chinese coast have prayed to Mazu for safe voyages and abundant catches. The A-Ma Temple...