Sentosa

Sentosa (Sanskrit: संतोष; Chinese: 圣淘沙) is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some twenty million people a year. Attractions include a 2 km (1.2 mi) long sheltered beach, Fort Siloso, two golf courses, the Merlion, 14 hotels, and the Resorts World Sentosa, featuring the theme park Universal Studios Singapore.

Etymology

The name Sentosa translates as "peace and tranquility" in Malay, which was in turn derived from संतोष (Santosha) in Sanskrit. Sentosa was once known as Pulau Belakang Mati (Chinese: 绝后岛), which in Malay means the "Island (pulau) of Death (mati) from Behind (belakang)".

The name Blakang Mati is rather old but may not have been founded in the nineteenth century as generally believed. In fact, there exists an island that was identified as Blacan Mati in Manuel Gomes de Erédia's 1604 map of Singapore. Other early references to the island of Blakang Mati include Burne Beard Island in Wilde's 1780 MS map, Pulau Niry, Nirifa from 1690 to 1700, and the nineteenth century reference as Pulau Panjang (J.H. Moor). However, early maps did not separate Blakang Mati from the adjacent island of Pulau Brani, so it is uncertain to which island the sixteenth century place names referred.