My Very First Blog

I visited 2 mosques on the same day. Now is that a record breaking feat? I think so. For me at least. Lol.

And to all non-Muslims who think they are not allowed to step into a mosque in Malaysia, well, it's simply not true. You can certainly visit a mosque as long as you dress decently and it's not during prayer times.

Anyway to recap, my day in Putrajaya started with a visit to the Putra Mosque with my friend. Then I brought him to see the PICC building and the incomplete Putrajaya Monorail Suspension Bridge. Right after that, we went to our second mosque of the day - the Iron Mosque.





That's a photo of the Iron Mosque which I took from the Putrajaya Lake. Yes, we were on a boat cruise (which I will blog about next) and the view of the mosque looked better from the lake.





Located at Precinct 3 next to Millennium Monument and opposite the Palace of Justice, the Iron Mosque is the second principal mosque in Putrajaya, after Putra Mosque. Despite that, the Iron Mosque's area is twice that of Putra Mosque.

Officially, the mosque is known as Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque, named after the 13th Yang DiPertuan Agong (King of Malaysia). However, it's popularly known as Iron Mosque (or Masjid Besi in Malay language) because it's made up of mostly steel (70% iron, 30% concrete) and it looks like a stainless steel structure from afar.





This mosque is very unique. Firstly, there is no minaret, which is used for a call to prayer and which can be found in most, if not all mosques in Malaysia.

Secondly, the mosque does not have fans or air conditioning system. Instead, it uses gas district cooling system to cool the interior. I am not going to explain what a gas district cooling system is. Just google it :)





The mosque employs 'architectural wire mesh' imported from Germany and China. The main entrance is strengthened with glass reinforced concrete to increase the integrity of the structure and the crystal glass creates an illusion of a white mosque from the distance.




A couple of shots of the main entrance.









A tour guide greeted us when we stepped into the mosque. Inside, we were stunned to see that the mosque is actually surrounded by an infinity pool! Amazing.





I could see three bridges from here! If you have read my posts on the Bridges Of Putrajaya, can you identify these three bridges?

The guide brought us to the prayer hall which is under a large dome.





He asked us if we recognise the word at the highest point of the dome.





So we looked up. The word was written in Arabic. We do not know how to read Arabic but we could guess.
































The word "Allah" was inscribed there. Allah is what Muslims regard as God or the Almighty.
































Actually, I was feeling a little uncomfortable with this guide as he was too forceful in pushing the Islam religion down our throats. Hey, we were just there to see the mosque like a tourist and maybe learn a thing or two about Islam, but we were certainly not there to be converted!





The guide made me wanted to leave, which was unfortunate (he should have followed the example of the friendly guide at Putra Mosque). I could have spent more time and learnt more things. I actually did not take a photo of the glass Mihrab wall that has verses on it. This special glass does not reflect light, thus making the verses appear as if they are floating in the air!

Oh well, maybe next time if I get the chance to visit this mosque again I will take a picture of that!

More photos of the infinity pool surrounding the mosque.










That tall pillar in front of the bridge is the Millennium Monument, a national monument in Putrajaya. And that pink dome shaped building on the right is the Putra Mosque, which we visited earlier.





We also went downstairs to visit the area where Muslims perform their washing ritual before prayer.





A wide corridor with shoe shelves on both sides.





We then went back up and I took another shot of the infinity pool. Ah, this picture is clearer. Now can you see the bridge (Seri Wawasan bridge), the Millennium Monument and the Putra Mosque with its minaret?





Nice covered walkway outside the main entrance.





I thought this makes a pretty cool image.
































Despite not very happy with the guide, I enjoyed my visit to this Iron Mosque and certainly recommend anyone to visit it.

NEXT : A Cruise On Putrajaya Lake 


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It was back in June 2014 when I first stepped into a mosque. It was the Putra Mosque (also known as Masjid Putra) in Putrajaya.

I am not a Muslim. Was I allowed to enter a mosque here in Malaysia? The answer is yes and non Muslims are more than welcomed to visit a mosque as long as it is not during prayer times and you are decently dressed.

I was bringing a visiting Filipino friend on a tour of Putrajaya that day. We stopped by the Seri Wawasan Bridge to take photos.



There are altogether 9 landmark bridges in Putrajaya. I have covered 6 of them on my blog and you can read about them (including the above bridge) and a brief introduction to the city of Putrajaya HERE.

Standing on the bridge, we could see the Putra Mosque in the distance. Can you see the dome shaped building and the tall minaret beside it in the photo below? That's the Putra Mosque!



It was just a 5 minutes drive from the Seri Wawasan Bridge to the mosque. In front of the mosque is a large public square known as Dataran Putra with many flagpoles flying the Malaysian states' flags.



Located next to the mosque is Perdana Putra which houses the Malaysian Prime Minister's office.



Construction of this pink-domed mosque began in 1997 and was completed in 1999.



As we walked towards the mosque, I took some pictures of the tall lamp post at the square.






At the main entrance of Putra Mosque. There were some tourists there that day.



Look at the beautiful intricate design at the top of the arch-shaped entrance!



As we walked past the main entrance into the courtyard, the beautiful image of the Putra mosque came into view. The mosque has an interesting mixture of Malaysian, Persian and Arab-Islamic architectural designs.



The minaret is equally impressive. Influenced by the design of the Sheikh Omar Mosque in Baghdad, this 116 metre tall minaret has five tiers, representing the five pillars of Islam.



We spent some time taking pictures before entering the mosque.



That's my Filipino friend in blue shirt admiring the mosque from near.



I love the pink domes of the mosque! They were built with rose-tinted granite which gave them the beautiful pinkish hue.



This is the view from behind the main entrance.



The mosque provides robes for those who are not suitably dressed. My friend and I did not have to put on the robes as our simple collared T-shirts and jeans were deemed acceptable.



My first time stepping into a mosque. We left our shoes outside.



Beautiful lights!



There was a friendly guide who walked around showing us the interior of the mosque.



This is my favourite part of the mosque - the main dome. So beautiful!



The 36-metre diameter dome is just right on top of the prayer hall with 12 huge columns supporting it.



The highest point below the dome is 250 feet above ground level.



Don't you agree it looks so beautiful?



The Prayer Hall itself is elegant with intricate designs on the walls. The Mehrab (niche or indentation in the wall indicating direction of qiblat in Mecca) are adorned with Islamic calligraphy.



Love this shot!



The view from inside the mosque looking out.



On display were The Holy book Quran in different languages.



So many Quran books lining on the table! Do you recognise the languages? It is said that the Quran is the only book in the world with no revised editions - meaning not a word in the Quran had been added, removed or altered.



A poster depicting the different postures while doing the sholat or prayer.



This wooden structure is the Minbar or Pulpit. It has a short staircase leading to the top platform.



The Minbar is used by the Imam, who leads the worshippers in prayers. He usually gives sermon before the Friday prayers at this Minbar.



Our friendly guide explained to us about Islam and showed us the genealogy of the 25 prophets mentioned in the Quran. From the chart, you can see how Islam and Christianity are closely related.



The above is just a screenshot of the genealogy chart. For the full image, click HERE.

I took a few more shots of the interior before stepping out of the mosque.



Although our guide explained and enlightened us about Islam, he did not make us feel uncomfortable or tried to convert us. I am sure my Filipino friend who is a Christian felt good talking to him.



The Putra Mosque is large enough to accommodate a maximum of 10,000 worshippers. Outside the prayer hall is a spacious area next to the fountains. This area could probably hold another few thousands worshippers.



It was a good experience visiting Putra Mosque. I was glad I did it! But there was another mosque in Putrajaya that we wanted to visit. It's located nearby and curiously called The Iron Mosque. That will be in another post, so stay tuned.