Terengganu Darul Iman
Turtles Heaven
Terengganu,
an East Coast State, borders Kelantan and
Pahang. The capital Kuala Terengganu is the gateway to Malaysia's oil industry.
It is thought to be the oldest port in Malaysia, and its' history can be traced
back to the days of the ancient Greeks, as their records mention the State.
( Picture shows the Batu Bersurat )
History
Although history has it that the state of Terengganu
was recorded on 
Ptolemy's
second-century map of the Malay Peninsula, the history of modern day Terengganu
dates back fairly recently.
Terengganu was already paying tribute to the Siamese in the north when the Malacca Sultanate was established in the 14th century. A 1303 inscription found at Kuala Berang establishes the existence of an Islamic state here at that time. And although it wasn't long before Terengganu became a vassal of Malacca, it managed to remain largely independent during the Riau-Johore ascendancy. It was also trading with China and Siam at that time.
Terengganu's close association with Johore was formalised in 1724, with the establishment of Terengganu as a state and the installation of her first sultan, Tun Zainal Abidin, a brother of one of the former sultans of Johore. This close association with Johore continued for some years. Sultan Mansur spent fifteen years in the mid-18th century in Johore, trying to rally anti-Bugis sentiment. Having failed there, Sultan Mansur turned his attention to Kelantan to the north, and managed to have his son installed as the ruler of the state. It was during Sultan Mansur's reign that Terengganu became a vassal of the Siamese.
Although it sent "golden flowers" to Siam as a token of tribute, Terengganu through the intelligent endeavour and manoeuvrings of the then Sultan Baginda Omar, managed to keep the Siamese at arm's length until 1909, when it was transferred along with Kelantan to British overlordship. Despite a short-lived peasant uprising in 1928, the British managed to exert control over Terengganu until the Japanese arrived in World War Two. During the Japanese Occupation, control of the state reverted to Thailand, but Terengganu became a member of the Federation of Malaya when it was formed in 1948.
Geography
Terengganu lies on the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia, and shares a border with Kelantan an the north-west and Pahang on the south-west. It's capital, Kuala Terengganu, is a forty five minute plane ride away, or an eight-hour journey by road, from the federal capital of Kuala Lumpur. Terengganu is also only a four-hour drive from southern Thailand.
Being situated near the Equator, Terengganu is hot and humid all year round, with temperatures ranging between twenty five and thirty two degrees Celsius. The North-east Monsoon brings heavy rainfall between November and January, with less rainfall recorded between May and July.
Terengganu's approximately two hundred and twenty five kilometre coastline faces out into the South China Sea, and boasts some of the finest beaches and islands in South-east Asia. Terengganu is also home to some of the world's oldest tropical rainforests, where for millions of years lush virgin vegetation have remained virtually unchanged.