My Visit To Taman Tamadun Islam

After my friend and I left Tasik Kenyir, I received an sms from Firefly saying that our flight would be delayed by 3 hours. So what did we do in that 3 hours? Well, if you have been following my blog, you would know that we went to visit mosques!

Not real mosques, but just monuments actually. Although we did go to a real mosque later.

There is this place in Terengganu called Taman Tamadun Islam (or Islamic Heritage Park). It is a park that features 21 great Islamic monuments (or replicas of mosques) from all over the world.

The entrance fee is RM20, but Malaysian citizens need only to show their MyKad to get 50% discount.

This sure does not look like a mosque, does it?



It is actually the Minaret of Xian Mosque of China. The mosque was founded in 1392 by naval Admiral Cheng Ho during Tang Dynasty. Although resembling a Buddhist temple, its grand axis is aligned from east to west, facing Mecca.



Above is the Great Mosque of Agadez in Niger which was built in the 16th century entirely from dried earth and topped by a pyramid-shaped minaret spiked with 13 rows of stakes to strengthen the structure.

I have to admit that I did not really have the time to choose the best angle for my photos. These photos were the best I could do. We were trapped in a horrendous traffic jam on the way to this park and lost about 1 hour or so on the road!

Taking the photos of all the 21 monuments were a challenge. We were actually rushing from one monument to the next! Since showing all 21 monuments would make this post too long, I have decided just to highlight a few interesting ones.



There was a small lake in the middle of the park. It's a pity we did not have more time to enjoy the scenery!

Oh, I noticed there were buggy rides too!



Below is the photo of the Kalyan Minaret of Uzbekistan. Made from baked bricks in 1127 A.D., it was built twice because the original tower fell down due to shoddy works! Now isn't that interesting!



This is the Mohamad Ali Mosque of Egypt. Designed by a Greek architect, it was built in 1246 A.D. and was named after the Egypt King who governed Eygpt for 45 years.



Known as Dome of The Rock, the mosque below was built in 602 A.D. in Palestine. It enshrines the Sacred Rock and commemorates the Prophet Muhammad's ascension to heavens to visit God.



If you do not wish to fly over to India for the magnificent Taj Mahal, you can actually see the smaller version at Taman Tamadun Islam.



The Taj Mahal was built in 1631 by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It incorporates Persian and earlier Mughal architecture. Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semiprecious stones in the building of Taj Mahal.

The Great Mosque of Samarra in Iraq was built entirely of bricks and clay in the 9th century and was at one time, the largest mosque in the world.



The minaret called The Malwiya Tower, is a vast spiralling cone 52 metres high with spiral ramp. Definitely a unique looking mosque in my opinion!

One look at the Kudus Minar Mosque and you can guess it's from Indonesia because of the meru style minaret of mixed Hindu and Javanese architecture. It was built in 1549 by a famous Muslim guru Sunan Kudus and is located in Kudus District in Central Java.



Lastly we have the Pattani Mosque of Thailand. Resembling the Taj Mahal, this mosque was built in 1954 and is the biggest and most beautiful mosque in Thailand.



If you like to see all 21 monuments, click HERE.

After seeing all these scaled down versions of mosques from around the world, we rushed off to see a real mosque, one that is made of crystals!

Called Masjid Kristal (or Crystal Mosque), it is located just a short ride away from the monuments.



Constructed in 2006, this mosque was officially opened on the 8th February, 2008.



We did not go into the mosque but just took photos from outside. I did not find the mosque that beautiful as expected. Could it be that it was not properly taken care of?



Sitting on top of the Terengganu river, the mosque was supposed to look majestic, but the sight of rubbish at the base of the mosque really put me off. I have cropped the bottom part of the photo above to spare you the view of those filthy rubbish.

Actually, the view opposite the mosque was better.



Dark clouds were looming up above the sky and the wind was blowing quite strongly. Looked as if a storm was brewing. I really enjoyed standing there.



Unfortunately, it was time for us to go. We had to catch the flight back to KL. The taxi driver had told us about another famous mosque in Kuala Terengganu called Masjid Terapung (or Floating Mosque). Maybe I will go there if I ever visit Kuala Terengganu in future.

NOTE : This is the end of my Lake Kenyir posts. If you have missed any of my Lake Kenyir posts, feel free to read them HERE.

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I Saw An UFO On My Way Back From Lake Kenyir

Remember I told you that I saw an UFO during my cab ride from the Kuala Terengganu airport to Lake Kenyir? If not, read HERE.

Well, I actually saw another UFO on the way back from Lake Kenyir. And I even successfully took a photo of it!

NOW PLEASE DO NOT SCROLL DOWN for that photo!!!!
Enjoy reading about my last day at Lake Kenyir first or you shall miss all the fun! Haha!

After enjoying ourselves at Herbal Island and Saok Waterfall, we took the speedboat back to our hotel. On the way, we passed by the infamous Dead Trees of Lake Kenyir.



Our tour guide told us that they could not bring us any closer to the dead trees as the trees would damage the boat. Luckily, me and my friend visited the dead trees up close and personal on our own the day before so it was OK.

From the boat, we could see numerous chalets by the lake front.



Oh! And we spotted the Lake Kenyir Resort And Spa main building too! See that balcony where we ate our breakfast overlooking the beautiful Lake Kenyir? Well, now we were on Lake Kenyir looking right back! Haha!



See that smaller building below the Resort's main building? That's where we would be heading to once we reached land!



That's the Ulik Mayang Spa where we would be having our sauna and massage!

I was so looking forward to this massage as my friend and I had a nice body scrub and massage there the day before and we loved it! Read about it HERE

So immediately after we reached land, we went straight there.

We went for the sauna first. This is how the sauna box looked like.



That is for one person, not two! There were two sauna boxes. So we did not share the same sauna box if that's what you think! Haha!

This is how the interior of the sauna box looks like.



We were supposed to sit inside that sauna box for 30 minutes, but we both found it unbearably hot and uncomfortable! So before even 15 minutes were up, we called the staffs to cut short our sauna and do a longer back massage instead. Luckily they agreed to our request!

Before the massage, we were given a choice of four different types of oil. We both chose the lemongrass oil.



The back massage was excellent! It was 45 minutes of bliss! The total package of sauna and back massage was priced at a promotional price of RM75 per pax. Not too bad, yes?

Immediately after the massage, we headed straight back to our chalet, which was just a stone's throw away. We did a quick pack-up and before we knew it, the buggy had arrived at our doorstep to take us to the resort's lobby for check out.

After bidding goodbye to the resort's staffs, we left Lake Kenyir in a taxi.

Along the way to the airport, we stopped by a roadside stall selling duku langsat.



Yummy, yummy duku langsat! My friend and I bought 3kg each. I kind of regretted later I did not buy more as they were really good!



I saw more of these delicious fruits in plastic baskets on the grass.



There was a stall next to it selling pisang goreng and kuih bahulu.



We were hungry, so we bought some pisang goreng and kuih bahulu.



As we continued our journey to the airport in the taxi, we decided to eat the pisang goreng and kuih bahulu while they were still steaming hot!

And then, just as I was about to bite into the kuih bahulu, I saw it. The UFO!!!

In this bright afternoon, can you believe I spotted an UFO? I quickly snapped a photo of the flying saucer! Gosh! I could not believe my luck!!

Finally, an UFO in Malaysia..... clearly captured on camera!!



Will this be the next hottest news in Malaysia and probably the world? Will it?

Unfortunately not.

That's because the UFO I saw was not in the sky..... but in my hand.



It's the kuih bahulu that I was about to bite into! Haha!!

Doesn't it look like an UFO to you? It sure does to me! LOL!

Anyway, before you can say "Crap!", I had already eaten and gulped down that UFO! Haha! It was yummy!!

Suddenly I received an sms on my handphone. I took a look at it. Oh no!! It was a message from Firefly. Our 4pm flight would be delayed by several hours to 7pm!

I looked at my friend in despair. What are we going to do with 3 free hours on our hands? That's what you will find out in my next post, so stay tuned! : )

FIRST COMMENTER

A Refreshing Time At Saok Waterfall

After leaving Herbal Island behind us, we headed for Saok Waterfall in our speedboat.



There are many waterfalls in Tasik Kenyir. But we chose Saok Waterfall as it was included in the Herbal Island package which cost RM40 per person.



After traveling for about 5 minutes, we reached our destination.



A towering signboard at the top of the stairs welcomed us to Saok Waterfall.



Once we reached the top of the stairs, I came across this wooden platform.



As the others went ahead to the waterfall, I spent some time here myself admiring the beautiful scenery.



I took a few shots here.



Standing here, I felt completely calm and relaxed.



In fact, I could sit here with a good book all day long. Haha!!



To reach the waterfall, I had to climb up this flight of stairs!



Upon reaching the top, a wooden signboard showed me the direction to the waterfall.



Soon, the sound of waterfall could be heard! And then I caught some glimpses of the waterfall in between the trees!



Oh! I could feel the fresh air already!



The waterfall was right in front of me now. I saw my friend and waved to him.



Somehow the sound of the waterfall cascading down from the top was very soothing to the ears. And I felt very refreshed, possibly due to the negative ions formed by the waterfall.



And of course I would not miss dipping my legs into the waters! It was so cooling and refreshing! Both me and my friend could just sit there the whole day if we wanted!



I was told that during heavy rainy season, this waterfall is off limits to visitors as the strong current can be dangerous.



Soon, it was time to go back. The boat was there waiting for us. As usual, I was the last to arrive.



I felt a little sad leaving Saok Waterfall. But that's all right cos I was looking forward to our massage session next!

FIRST COMMENTER