Rajeev's World: A Peek Into Islamic Art...

Malaysia, being a society dominated by Islam, takes immense pride in traditional Islamic art and architecture. In fact, in most of the arts, there has been an amalgamation of local Malay styles with traditional Arab and Persian art, which is indeed a visual treat.

After a 30-minute walk through the Perdana, we reached the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, which had been mentioned as an absolute visit by Neeti's sister-in-law, who is a frequent visitor to Kuala Lumpur, and in a sense she helped us plan our itinerary in the city...

The weather turned cloudy as we entered the museum complex...

The foyer had beautiful and traditional Islamic motifs...

Indeed beautiful...

The lobby of museum - we quickly bought our tickets and proceeded to the Islamic Architecture Gallery, which featured miniature models of prominent Islamic buildings from all over the world. Indeed getting all these models, intricate and precise in detailing, would have been a herculean task...

A model of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque of Abu Dhabi... With its capacity of 41,000 people, it is one of the most visited buildings in the United Arab Emirates...

A view of the intricately designed inverted dome from the architecture gallery...

A model of the Dome of the Rock, in Jerusalem...

The Great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, Syria - this mosque was built on the site of ancient Roman temple and a Christian basilica dedicated to Saint John the Baptist...

The Ibn Tulun Mosque of Cairo, Egypt - it is the oldest surviving mosque in the city...

Kalyan Mosque of Bukhara, Uzbekistan. The minaret is It is also known as the Tower of Death because for centuries criminals were executed by being thrown from the top...

Bibi Khanum Mosque of Samarkand, Uzbekistan...

After his Indian campaign, in 1399, Timurlane decided to construct this a gigantic mosque in his new capital, Samarkand. The mosque was built using precious stones captured during his conquest of India. According to Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, a Spanish ambassador to the court of Timurlane, 90 captured elephants were employed merely to carry precious stones, for this new mosque at Samarkand. I cringed at learning this...

How India had been looted for ages, and how each time India rose like phoenix from the ashes... That is incredible...

Gur-i Amir Complex of Samarkand, Uzbekistan...

This is a mausoleum of Timurlane... Ohhh he didn't take the precious stones with him to whatever his heaven is? I wondered what was the purpose of his reckless looting in India...

Khodja Ahmad Yasawi Mosque in Kazakhstan...

Again constructed by Timur, this mausoleum is dedicated to a Sufi mystic, Khodja Ahmad Yasawi...

The Court of the Lions at Alhambara, Spain is a blend of Moorish and Christian styles and is on the UNESCO World Heritage List...

A map of Islamic heritage sites around the world...

A pulpit from Isfahan, Iran...

This intricately carved jaali marks the direction of Mecca...

The Imam Mosque of Isfahan is regarded as a masterpiece of Persian architecture...

Selimiye Mosque of Edirne, Turkey, a prime example of Ottoman architecture...

Classic Mughal architecture of the Badshahi Mosque of Lahore...

Our very own Taj Mahal of Agra...

Daxue Xi Lane Mosque at Xi'an, China - the absence of Arab influences is evident in its typical Chinese architecture, in fact it could even pass off as a Buddhist temple complex...

Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi of Medina, Saudi Arabia, the second oldest mosque is said to have been built by the Prophet himself...

Al Masjid Al Haram of Mecca that houses the Kaaba...

A fountain inspired by those found in Mamluk, Egypt...

Dar al-Islam Mosque at Abiquiu, New Mexico, USA...

The Great Mosque of Djenne, Timbuktu, Mali...

Timbuktu was once a great centre for Islam and regional trade... And it was one of the richest cities of its times...

Qubba Mosque of Medina in Saudi Arabia...

Imam Al-Bukhari Mosque of Samarkand, Uzbekistan...

Kampung Laut Mosque of Kelantan, Malaysia...

Javan and Malay influences are visible...

Tengkera Mosque of Malacca, Malaysia...

Wadi Hussain Mosque of Pattani, Thailand... Note the absence of minarets...

A view of the other galleries...

There was nothing more interesting here in the museum than the architecture gallery. We thoroughly enjoyed viewing the scaled-down, remarkable versions of Islamic monuments...