nature of the sea life. Penyengat Penyengat is a historical small island (about in area) located about offshore of Tanjung Pinang, which was a religious, cultural and administrative centre of the region in the 19th century of the Riao-Johor sultanate. The Sultan had shifted to this place after Melaka was taken over by the Portuguese and he made it the capital of his kingdom, which was in decline at the time. On the northeast end of the island many ancient Islamic relics are seen. The Malay and the Bugis, to attain peace in the region, had cemented their relationship by establishing marital ties. Raja Ali Haji, who was the Bugis commander of Bintan and acclaimed as the hero of his people, married his daughter to Sultan Mahmud Shah of Malacca. The island was gifted to his daughter, Raja Hamidah. This union established peace between the Malay and the Bugis. Following this, a grand mosque (see infobox) called the Masjid Raya was built on the island (over 170 years old), which can be seen from Tanjung Pinang. A monument by the seaside that commemorates Raja Ali Haji, who sacrificed his life for his people against the Dutch, is also seen on the beach. Hakka ethnic people and Indo-Malays reside here. Another historical fact is that in 1819 the Penyangat-based sultanate cooperated with Sir Stamford Raffles to handover Singapore in exchange for British Military protection. Masjid Raya Sultan Riau Masjid Raya Sultan Riau built in 1818, is an exquisitely kept yellow mosque, also called the sulfur-coloured mosque. It has many domes and minarets. The unique feature of the mosque is that the mortar used was the special egg-white mortar as the cementing material; eggs were presented to the Sultan by his subjects on the occasion of his wedding. The mosque houses a rare 150-year-old hand written Koran in its Islamic library. A formal dress code is observed for entry into the mosque. Tanjung Pinang Tanjungpinang is located on the southwestern part of Bintan island and is the capital and largest town of the Indonesian province of Riau Islands. It is a port town and a trade centre with ethnic diversity and with traditional villages and temples. It has an area of and is an autonomous region within the Bintan Island. It is a trading port between islands in the Riau archipelago. Tanjungpinang has ferry and speedboat connections to Batam, Singapore, and Johor