Just a two-hour drive from the capital is Malacca, its name derived from the Arab malakat (market). Located astride the great maritime trade route linking the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea, for centuries the city was the rendezvous of every seafaring nation: Indians, Javanese, Chinese, Arabs, Siamese, Portuguese, Dutch and British, exchanging camphor, cloves, nutmeg and sandalwood for silks, carpets and porcelain.