From Metz to Malacca | How a Postcard of a French Chapel Revealed a Forgotten 800-Year-Old Story

Hello my wonderful friend,, as the "Canon Rider," I've always believed a camera is more than just a tool. It's like a passport that lets you travel, or even a time machine. But sometimes, a big trip starts with something small, like a simple postcard.

I'm part of a group called Postcrossing. We send and get postcards from random people all over the world. It's a wonderful way to share cultures. Today, I got a card in my mailbox from Metz, France. It was a simple black-and-white photo of a building I didn't know.

The building was nice, but also... strange. It wasn't a huge church. It was small, strong, and looked almost like it was hiding a secret. It had a special eight-sided shape and a very steep roof. My friend's note on the back was short: "Im from Metz, France!"

That "Metz" made me very curious. I did some research and found out it wasn't just any old church. It was a headquarters for the Knights Templar.

And what's amazing is that its story is directly connected to my own home, Malaysia, and the fall of the famous Malaccan Sultanate. It's like a lost first chapter to our story.

A Hidden Gem in Metz: The Templar's Chapel

If you ever visit Metz, you'll probably see the huge Saint-Étienne Cathedral first. It's one of the tallest in France, with amazing old glass windows. But as your travel guide, I'll tell you a secret: the real special places are often the smaller ones.

Hidden away, and easy to miss, is the Chapelle des Templiers (the Templar's Chapel). It was built between 1180 and 1220. It's the only part left of a much bigger Templar main office, called a commanderie.

When you stand there, you can feel the history. The stone is old and rough. The building's style is a mix: the main part is in an older style (Romanesque), but the high ceiling and thin windows show the new (Gothic) style that was just beginning.

But the real clue is its shape. It has eight sides.

This wasn't just to look nice. It was a message. The eight-sided shape was meant to copy the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. This was the place where Christians believed Jesus was buried and rose again. This building was a promise in stone. It told everyone that the knights here had promised to protect Jerusalem and the travelers who went there.

Today, it's used for art shows. But when you step inside and it gets quiet, you can almost imagine the knights in their armor and hear their quiet prayers. It's a special place that feels like it takes you back in time. Most tourists miss it.

Who Were the Knights Templar? The Real Story

So, who were the men who built this chapel? Forget the movies. The true story is even more interesting.

Around 1119, after the First Crusade, a French knight named Hugues de Payens and eight family members promised to protect Christian travelers going to Jerusalem. Their full name was "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon," because their main office was on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

They were a new idea: they were both monks and soldiers. They promised to be poor, to not marry, and to obey orders, but they were also top-class, dangerous fighters.

But their best new idea wasn't about fighting. It was about money.

Think about it. If you were a traveler in France in the 12th century, you couldn't carry a bag of gold all the way to Jerusalem. You would be robbed. The Templars found an answer: you could leave your gold at the Templar office in Metz, get a special note (like a check), and then use that note to get your money at the Templar office in Jerusalem.

They invented the first international bank.

This made them very, very rich and strong. They became the bankers for kings and popes. Their offices, like the one in Metz, opened all over Europe. They weren't just chapels; they were safe banks, army recruitment centers, and farms. They were like a huge company that worked in many countries...the first one ever.

The End of the Knights | Betrayal on Friday the 13th

The Templars' success was also the cause of their end. King Philip IV of France owed them a lot of money and was jealous of their power. He decided to get rid of them and take all their money.

On Friday, October 13th, 1307, he ordered his soldiers to arrest all the Templars at the same time, all across France. He said they were bad Christians and did terrible things. It was a long list of (almost certainly false) charges. He tortured them to make them say they were guilty.

By 1312, the Pope, under pressure from the King, officially ended the group. The last leader, Jacques de Molay, was burned to death in Paris.

The Templar group was finished. Their lands were meant to be given to another group, the Knights Hospitaller. They took care of the chapel in Metz and didn't tear it down. This small building survived, even as its powerful owners were destroyed.

But a story like this never really ends.

The Hidden Connection | From a French Chapel to the Malaccan Sultanate

This is the part that amazed me. This is the hidden link that connects this postcard to my home.

The Templars' big idea is mixing military power, religion, and global money that didn't die with them. It was just picked up by the new, strong countries of Europe.

And in one country, the connection is crystal clear.

In Portugal, King Dinis didn't hurt the Templars. He protected them. He knew how useful they were... their knowledge of sailing, their fighting skills, and their money. In 1319, he just gave them a new name: the Order of Christ. It was the same group, just with a new name and a new job. Their symbol? The same Templar red cross.

Who was the most famous leader of this "new" group? Prince Henry the Navigator.

Suddenly, it all makes sense. The whole "Age of Discovery," which we learn about in our Malaysian Sejarah (History) books, was paid for and led by the group that came right after the Knights Templar.

They weren't just exploring. They were on a holy mission. They wanted to find a sea route to the East for two reasons:

1. Money: To get around the trade routes run by Muslims and Venetians and take control of the very valuable spice trade.

2. Religion: To find a legendary Christian king ("Prester John") and start a new, worldwide holy war against Islam.

1511 | The Same Fight Reaches Malacca

And where was the world's center for the spice trade? The richest, most international port on Earth?

The Malaccan Sultanate.

When Afonso de Albuquerque sailed his ships into the Strait of Malacca, he wasn't just a trader or an explorer. He was a holy warrior, just like the Templars. He was part of a group (the Order of Santiago) that was just like the Order of Christ.

His own letters show his reasons. He said he was doing "great service to the Lord by pushing the Moors (Muslims) out of this country." He saw the powerful and mixed-culture Malaccan Sultanate as the other side of the same holy war the Templars had been fighting in Jerusalem 400 years earlier.

In 1511, that same power, which started in the Holy Land and grew in chapels like the one in Metz, arrived in Malacca.

The fall of Malacca wasn't just a random event. It was the end of a story that began centuries before. The same European drive that built the Chapelle des Templiers is the very same drive that built A Famosa on top of the Sultan's palace.

The chapel in Metz is a stone proof of the start of this global plan. A Famosa is the stone proof of its arrival in Southeast Asia.

Final Thoughts: Why This Postcard Matters

I'm still looking at this postcard. A simple black-and-white photo of a small chapel in France.

As a blogger, I live for these moments. This is why we take pictures and why we connect with people. A single picture, a single "hello" from a stranger, can open up a whole hidden story.

It reminds us that the world is more connected than we think. The things that shaped a small town in France are the exact same things that decided the future of our own country. History isn't just one thing after another. It's all one big story.

This story, which all started with one postcard, is one of the most emotional story I've ever found.

A note to all of you who love travel and history: What's the most surprising history connection you've ever found? Did you ever find a small building with a huge story?

Share your own "postcard stories" in the comments below! And if you're ever in Metz, take an hour to find this chapel. Stand there, and just listen to the past.