Love Lane and Armenian Street might ring some bells, but not many people know the stories of how and why they were named as such.

From devoted Shiite Muslims who expressed their love through torturing themselves with sharp swords to strange Hokkien translations, this list will uncover the fascinating tales behind George Town’s famous streets.

1. Light Street (Lebuh Light)

Built between 1786 to 1787 and named after Captain Francis Light, Light Street is not only more than 200 years old, but it is older than both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

When Light first sailed upon the jungled island of George Town on July 17, 1786, the first place he developed on the island was the once-forested grounds of Esplanade that Light Street now stretches on.

Needing its lands to be deforested quickly for development, Light came up with a sparkling plan.

He ordered for silver coins to be fired from his ship’s cannons towards the forested lands, which poured over the immigrants who lived there, successfully enticing them to help Light clear the forests.

Esplanade is now known to locals as the “Padang” and promptly after its establishment, Penang’s first-ever street called Light Street was formed and it became the starting point of all the other roads in George Town.

2. Love Lane (Lorong Love)

Just as how love can be a complicated matter, Love Lane’s backstory is a confusing one as there are three contrasting theories surrounding it.

The first involves the Shiite Muslims who arrived in George Town during the 19th century, brought with them their annual Muharram Festival tradition and started painting Chulia Street and Love Lane red with blood.

Before groovy bar music filled Love Lane, the painful cries of “Hassan! Hussain!” boomed throughout the street, coming from the mouths of Shiite devotees who honoured the sons of Ali, Prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law, through acts of self-flagellation.

These acts of self-flagellation involved swinging on tenterhooks or torturing themselves with sharp swords, skewers and fiery coals.

As their bloodshed and passionate cries reached festival onlookers, many were touched by the devotees’ selfless love for Ali’s family and it then served as inspiration for the name Love Lane.

The second theory simply suggests that it was named after a British officer called Love who was once posted to George Town.

Love Lane’s final theory, however, is a rather scandalous one.

Said to be once filled with bamboo groves, this little lane became the perfect spot for European sailors and soldiers as they sneakily hid behind the tall bamboo stalks to have heated hookups with local ladies.

And, as brothels filled Love Lane, it was even rumoured that the Chinese and Peranakan businessmen back then used to hide their mistresses in the houses located there.

3. Armenian Street (Lebuh Armenian)

Armenian Street is one of the most photographed places in Penang and home to the world-famous mural called ‘Children on a Bicycle’.

Underneath its brightly decorated street, however, lies a dangerous past filled with notorious triad fights.

One of its townhouses was even used by Sun Yat Sen, who later became China’s first provisional president.

The townhouse was used to hold the infamous 1910 Penang conference where he raised funds and planned the revolt that essentially led to the downfall of China’s last imperial dynasty, the Qing Empire.

The same green townhouse walls where Sun devised his master plans still exist today and have since been turned into the Sun Yat Sen Museum.

4. Malay Street (Lebuh Melayu)

Before Malay Street gained its Chinese characteristics in the late 19th century, it acted as a village path for the Malay settlement that was once inhabited by ethnic Malays and immigrants from Sumatra.

While its English and Malay names are pretty straightforward, the Hokkien rendition is starkly different and pronounced as “Thai Gu Au”, which shockingly translates into “the cow-slaughtering street”.

However, there is a reasonable explanation for this, as back when the Malay settlement was still around, the area was known to breed and slaughter lots of cows during Muslim festivals.

On top of acting as the border between Penang’s core and buffer zone of Unesco’s World Heritage Site, the Malay Street was also where Penang’s top Chinese school, Chung Ling High School was first established before moving to its current location at Air Itam.

5. Pitt Street (Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling)

This list ends on a warm note as the multicultural Pitt Street showcases the flourishing diversity that George Town’s little island has to offer.

Named after former British Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, by Francis Light, Pitt Street also gained the name of Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling after the Kapitan Keling mosque was built on its premises in 1801.

Today, it has been given the glorious nickname of Penang’s “Street of Harmony”, as you’ll find four of Malaysia’s uniquely different places of worship here.

The Kapitan Keling Mosque, Kuan Yin Temple, Sri Mahamariamman Temple and St George’s Church all exist harmoniously and are within walking distance on Pitt Street.