BERPETUALANG KE ACEH: 2008-11-23

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This blogspot is a medium to share my thoughts and adventures apart from promoting my books. Below are the books which have been written or authored and published by myself.

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Mencari Diri dan Erti".

ISBN 983-42031-0-1, Jun 2006

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Membela Syiar yang Asal"

ISBN 983-42031-1-x, May 2007

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Sirih Pulang ke Gagang?"

ISBN 978-983-42031-2-2, November 2007

It is interesting to note that while these books were written in Malay it has gained enough attention to merit being part of the collections of the American Library of Congress and National Library of Australia. Look here and here.

While the first three books were published by my own company, the fourth titled "Rumah Azan" was published in April 2009 by a company called Karnadya with the help of the Malaysian national literary body Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. It features beautiful pictures along with stories behind selected mosques which could be related to the history of Islam and the Malays alongside the formation of the Malaysian nation. Look at the article A collaboration of old collegemates - the book "Rumah Azan".

My fifth book "Ahlul Bait (Family) of Rasulullah SAW and Malay Sultanates", an English translation and adaptation of the Malay book "Ahlul Bait (Keluarga) Rasulullah SAW dan Kesultanan Melayu" authored by Hj Muzaffar Mohamad and Tun Suzana Othman was published early 2010. Look here... My 5th book is out! Ahlul Bait (Family) of Rasulullah SAW and the Malay Sultanates... . For more information check out my Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU.

Like my fourth book "Rumah Azan", the sixth book "Kereta Api Menuju Destinasi" is also a coffee-table book which is published by the company Karnadya with the cooperation of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (the main Malay literary body in Malaysia). Coming out January 2011 it features pictures and stories on the adventure travelling by train to all of Peninsular Malaysia along with the interesting places which could be reached this way.

My seventh book "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah" in turn is a coffee-table book which is written, editted, designed and has pictures taken by me. Coming out of the factory October 2011, this book which combines family history with history of places such as Singapura, Johor, Batu Pahat, Muar and in fact the history of the island of Java and England has been reviewed with me interviewed live in the program Selamat Pagi Malaysia at RTM1. Look at the article Siaran langsung ulasan buku "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah" dan temu ramah di Selamat Pagi Malaysia. Some selected contents have been featured in Sneak peek "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah".

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The "Berpetualang ke Aceh" series of novels could be obtained in e-book form. Enter http://www.e-sentral.com/, click general novel and go to page 4. You can also type the word "Aceh" at the search box. Or click straight Book 1, Book 2 and Book 3.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

New trip to the East Coast - Masjid (mosque of) Kampung Laut revisited

OK. Continuing from New trip to the East Coast - Muhammadi mosque revisited and some views of Kota Bahru . Later that day, I went some 15 km south-west of Kota Bahru to visit a certain old mosque. Come! :]

Here is the mosque of Kampung Laut, an olden mosque built totally out of timber without the use of any nails and such...

This mosque to me is so splendid despite its apparent simplicity that I believe I have done a few pieces on it in my blogspots. For example, have a look at the old articles Masjid Kampung Laut, enough said! and Latest pictures of the famous Masjid (mosque) of Kampung Laut in Kelantan...

For a brief information on the mosque, read this...

A story of how the mosque was relocated from it's original location at Kampung Laut some 6 km north-east of Kota Bahru...

On the design...

The tower for calling out azan or the call to prayers...

A look at the three-tiered roofing system...

I went inside and saw this door open...

So I decided to have a look at what's inside...

For the first time ever, I climbed up the azan tower. Here is a view of the university hostel nearby...

One could get a good look of the topmost part of the mosque's main roof at this level...

The university campus in front seen from the next level...

And a look at the car I arrived in. For the record the whole carpark area seen here used to be outside the mosque compound. Now, the outer walls have been expanded to included this piece of land...

Time to get to the topmost level of the tower...

Had a nice snap of the topmost main roof...

And now, a better look at it...

Part of the mosque complex, its left side that is...

The front side and the main compound...

This latest trip also made me more particular with the architecture and interior design...

A certain wooden part potruding out of the roof inside the main praying hall. It actually extends to the topmost part as seen from the azan tower.

Some of the wood-carvings alongside...

The back left-side part...

A last look at the mosque. That's all. For the record, this is the 262nd posting in this blogspot, a mulitple of the number 131 which carries a certain meaning to me. So I would rest from making any new postings here for a while ya. That's all... cheers everyone! :]

New trip to the East Coast - Muhammadi mosque revisited and some views of Kota Bahru

Peace be upon you all. After making the piece titled New trip to the East Coast - Tomb and mosque of Tok Ku Paloh revisited last Friday, let's have another 'revisited' piece. Here it is...

This is the Muhammadi mosque in Kota Bahru, Kelantan, one of the places I would visit whenever I'm at the predominantly Malay city...

As I've made an article showing some pictures in and around the mosque at the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) (titled Masjid (mosque of) Muhammadi, Kota Bahru, Kelantan... ) half a year ago, it's good to put the pictures taken from my most recent trip to the East Coast into this blogspot.

The lates visit made two weeks ago had one extra feature compared to previous visits. For the first time, I took some aerial pictures of this mosque... at least you can call this an aerial picture as it is taken at some measure above ground level...

For the first ever, I actually climbed up one of the four towers there. Which is quite strange when I think again about it. How come all this while I never felt like going up there?

So here's a look at the city's main historical square from the mosque...

A look of the tower's top from inside. I could have climbed up these stairs but what's the point? There's not enough opening for me to take a decent look at the outside from up there...

And this is the spiral staircase leading up the tower...

I then went down and had a look around. It just occured to me that normally historical mosque like this one would have an information plaque somewhere. So I went looking for it and found it at one corner just outside the compound. Strange, all this while I never even bothered to look for it...

Time to leave the mosque...

OK. I might be more particular during this trip as this time I was not only visiting the mosque. I must have a good look at it from as many angles as this visit was made to include the Muhammadi mosque in a coffee-table book on mosques in Malaysia I'm working on.

My photographer Shamsul Yunos wanted to take an aerial picture of the mosque. So we went to a hotel nearby and asked permission to get on top. For the record, the pictures here were all taken by me using an automatic digital camera. Shamsul took his using a professional SLR camera with big lenses...

From up there, we also got a good look of the mosque and the historical surroundings in relation to the mighty Kelantan river...

A look at the main historical square in front of two palaces now turned into museums...

And a look at the skyline. Cheers! :]