Brought together by faith and art in Waterloo Street

"In Singapore we call it 'the mystery of Waterloo Street'," said H.H. Lee, a long-serving government interpreter who was with me during an exploration of the street in mid-July. Lee was commenting on the street's many religious landmarks which, put together, hold up a mirror to the multicultural community that's Singapore.

Moments before he made that remark, we found shelter from a sudden downpour inside Maghaim Aboth Synagogue, one of the oldest synagogues in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

The synagogue, whose name means "shield of our fathers", \was completed in 1878 by early Jewish settlers - mostly merchants from Iraq who came to trade as early as 1831. Today the building, influenced by the architectural style of the late Renaissance in Britain, still serves as the biggest gathering place for the Jewish community in Singapore.