Nov 2, 2011

The architectural mosque

 I won't pretend that I know a single thing about architecture, design and art form but I personally love anything that is visually and aesthetically pleasing... and to see such a rare heritage building in a sea of  awkwardly designed, commercial and pretentious skyscrapers always makes my jaw drop to the floor.

It's time for that (mildly) architectural buff in me to present to you this ah-mazingness of design genius that is the Sultan Sulaiman Mosque in Klang, built in the 1930s by the British.

Google has yielded a mixed results of information behind the design influences of this place of worship. A supposedly reliable website (Arkib Negara, ehem) says it is of Moghul influence. And the other, randomly-edited,  free-for-all portal that is Wikipedia seemingly has a more accurate description citing Art Deco and Neoclassical as its main architectural influence.

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Moghul? What Moghul? I think the writer has mistaken it for some other building...
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The important persons who officiated the mosque back in 1932
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The wrought-iron gate somehow reminds me of Parisian Metropolitain entrances
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The beautiful dome, complete with stained glass...
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The stained glass feature is very interesting, given that not many mosques in Malaysia contains such decoration. In fact I always attribute it to a church. Looking back to history though the Syrians have perfected the art of stained glass in the 8th century for decoration of small items, and at around the period the West has also incorporate the idea in their churches...
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