Saturday November 21, 2009
Torture tools expo a big draw
MALACCA: Man’s macabre fascination with implements of torture and death from Medieval Europe has been drawing locals and tourists alike to the Tortura2 exhibition here.
Some 60,000 patrons are expected to view over 200 genuine exhibits and life-sized replicas from Europe currently on display at the Bastion House, next to the A Famosa Fort ruins in Bandar Hilir.
Malacca Museums Corporation general manager Khamis Abas said the exhibition was a joint effort with WellAd Communications following their earlier success with a similar one here in 2003.
The exhibition drew some 30,000 visitors when it was held here six years ago despite the regional tourism sector feeling the impact of the Bali bombing and the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), he said when met here yesterday.
Macabre: Several young visitors looking at a sharp-studded torture chair which was among the items on display at Bastion House in Malacca yesterday. In 2003, some 3.6 million tourists visited Malacca and the numbers are expected to hit 7.4 million this year.
He said the exhibition, which was opened by Malacca Governor Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob, would run until Feb 28 next year.
Among the attractions is the French guillotine, the Iron Maiden of Nuremberg, numerous racks and a chastity belt worn by a wife of the Crusaders.
Meanwhile, student Zulkiflee Azman, 12, from Sungai Petani, Kedah, said he was fascinated with the exhibition but at the same time frightened at the horrors of medieval times.
“We usually see such instruments and gadgets on the television or in magazines and this is the first time I am actually seeing the real tools used for torture, he said.
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