Photo of the Day – Beyond the Elegant Architecture

Beyond the Elegant Architecture | Masjid As-Shariff

My picture entitled Beyond the Elegant Architecture was chosen as Photo of the Day dated 13 April 2012 in Light and Composition website.

This photo of the day is in a competition, which is evaluated by the numbers of tweets and re-tweets in Twitter and Stumbles on Stumble Upon, Like & Share in Facebook (Like and Share will count separately), 1+ in Google, Link In, Additionally, it will be evaluated based on the comments of the subscribers. If you love my photo please vote for it by doing any or all of the above.

Thank you in advance

Masjid Asy-Syariff

On the weekend before last I went to Meru by accident as I was just driving through the unfamiliar route looking for photo opportunities.  I stumbled on this beautiful mosque in Meru.  The weather fortunately was flattering resulting in very beautiful lighting that any photographer won’t resist jumping from bed and grab the camera to go shooting. I may be exaggerating but the lighting was the main motivational factor for me to go out and search for good subject on that day.

In fact most of the time lighting is the chief factor that normally motivates me to go out shooting. This is normally the case for outdoor photographers who depend only on sole light source which is the sun light. The quality of the light is very important to produce beautiful photos with crisp colours and contrasty tone. That I guess what differentiates photographs from ordinary snapshots.

Anyway these are the pictures of the Asy-Syariff Mosque (Masjid Asy-Syariff) in Meru.  Its vibrant yellow coat of paint contrasts well with deep blue sky in the background.

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This man is about to finish his minor ablution

Comments and criticism are welcomed

Check out the Asy-Syariff Mosque’s official website. It is full of religious activities. Kudos to its committee members who make full use of the technology for the benefit of Islam and muslims.

Please check out this page to see more photos of the mosque and click here for a slideshow of the mosque pictures above.

Masjid Jerteh

Masjid Jerteh or The Jerteh Mosque has now become a new landmark for Jerteh, the northernmost town of Terengganu (Actually there was no landmark before anyway as Jerteh is just a small but rapidly developing town). The mosque is perhaps the most significant contribution by Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh to Jerteh while he was the Terengganu Chief Minister for only one term. It is because Idris Jusoh, like me, hails from Jerteh. 

Jerteh is where I was born and brought up.  It is strategically located between Kuala Terengganu and Kota Bharu. It is also the town where foreign tourists especially backpackers stop to take a bus to Kuala Besut before they head for the world-famous tourist destination – Perhentian Island off Kuala Besut.

The Jerteh Mosque seems to be designed based on the middle-eastern and Turkish architecture with its prominent domes and minarets. It is located on the bank of the Jerteh River – a small river besides its much bigger sister – the Besut River – the two rivers that flank Jerteh town.

Enough words enjoy the pictures

Masjid Jerteh

Masjid Jerteh

The prominent dome of Masjid Jerteh

 

Domes

Masjid Jerteh

Masjid Jerteh

Inside Masjid Jerteh

More pictures can be found at my pbase gallery.

Mosque Architecture in Malaysia II

I found an academic working paper on Malaysian mosque architecture entitled “The Political Ideas of Islam and Their Influence on Mosque Architecture in Malaysia” by Mohd Tajuddin and Alice Sabrina very interesting. It discusses the architecture of three mosques in Malaysia namely Masjid Negara (The National Mosque), Masjid Putra (The Putra Mosque) and Masjid Rusila (The Rusila Madrasa) and the three leaders who conceived the idea of the mosque – Tunku Abdul Rahman al-Haj, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed and Tuan Guru Hj Abdul Hadi Awang respectively. It is their thinking, vision on Islam and their political influence that gave great influence on the architecture of the three mosques.

While I have some pictures of The Putra Mosque and The National Mosque unfortunately I don’t have any picture of The Rusila Mosque (Madrasa). I will take its picture whenever I go back to Terengganu next time.

The Putra Mosque in the early morning

The Putra Mosque in the late evening

The National Mosque completed in the early 1960′s just after Malaysia achieved its independence on 31 August 1957.

Do read the working paper by Mohd Tajuddin and Alice Sabrina entitled “The Political Ideas of Islam and Their Influence on Mosque Architecture in Malaysia” here which is in PDF format.

Check out my previous blog entry on Mosque Architecture in Malaysia.

Masjid Abidin – Part II

A few more pictures of the Abidin Mosque a.k.a Masjid Abidin a.k.a Masjid Puteh.

Click here for Masjid Abidin Part I

I welcome any comments and criticism. Please feel free to visit more of my mosque and architectural photos at my pbase photo portfolio. Most of my images are for sale and you can buy any of the photos directly from the stock photo agency – acclaimimages.com

Masjid Abidin

Masjid Abidin is Terengganu‘s old state royal mosque built by Sultan Zainal Abidin II between 1793 and 1808. The mosque, which is also known as the White Mosque or the Big Mosque, is located in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia. The old Royal Mausoleum is situated near the mosque.

During the reign of Sultan Umar, the mosque was replaced with one made out of bricks. Tengku Panglima Besar later extended it with three round pillars and three minarets. The mosque underwent renovation recently, in order to accommodate about 2,500 people in a single prayer session.

Carved on the mosque’s entrance doors and grills are several calligraphic carvings of verses from the Holy Quran, prayers and arabesques.

- From Wikipedia.

I had an opportunity to shoot this beautiful and classic mosque when I stopped by in Kuala Terengganu on my way to my hometown in Jerteh, the nothernmost town of Terengganu.

The weather was very nice and clear resulting in flattering lighting as well as deep blue sky in the early morning. I jumped at this golden opportunity which doesn’t come often considering monsoon season is still on.

Here are some pictures of The Abidin Mosque a.k.a The White Mosque or Masjid Abidin / Masjid Putih in Malay.

I welcome any comments or brickbats

For more mosque pictures please feel free to visit my photo portfolio.