Shah Alam Blue Mosque

The Largest Dome In Malaysia Over A Prayer Hall For Twenty Four Thousand, With Minarets That Were The Tallest In The World When They Were Built · Shah Alam, Selangor

SHAH ALAM WAS BUILT FROM NOTHING AS SELANGOR'S NEW CAPITAL AND THE MOSQUE WAS BUILT TO MATCH THE AMBITION. Finished in 1988, MASJID SULTAN SALAHUDDIN ABDUL AZIZ SHAH CARRIES THE LARGEST DOME IN MALAYSIA - an aluminium shell over a prayer hall that holds TWENTY-FOUR THOUSAND PEOPLE - and FOUR MINARETS THAT WERE THE TALLEST IN THE WORLD WHEN THEY WERE COMPLETED, at something over a hundred and forty metres. It is blue and white, it is enormous, and it is visible from a long way across the Klang valley. THE INSIDE IS THE SURPRISE: the dome is pierced with blue glass so the whole hall is lit in cold blue light, and the CALLIGRAPHY AROUND IT IS SAID TO BE THE LONGEST QURANIC INSCRIPTION IN THE COUNTRY. NON-MUSLIM VISITORS ARE WELCOMED, ROBED AND OFTEN GUIDED, and almost nobody makes the trip out from Kuala Lumpur. Come mid-morning when the blue is strongest, take one of the volunteer guides because the building rewards explaining, and stay away entirely at Friday midday.

Masjid Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, Shah Alam, Selangor, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

SHAH ALAM IS ABOUT FORTY-FIVE MINUTES FROM CENTRAL KUALA LUMPUR and is on the KTM COMMUTER LINE; the mosque is a short taxi ride from the station. VISITORS ARE WELCOME OUTSIDE PRAYER TIMES, FREE, WITH ROBES PROVIDED AT THE ENTRANCE - shoes are removed and modest dress is required for everyone. THERE IS USUALLY A VISITOR DESK AND VOLUNTEER GUIDES, and taking one is worth it. FRIDAY MIDDAY IS CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER and visitors should stay away entirely. RAMADAN CHANGES THE HOURS AND THE ATMOSPHERE considerably. THE BEST LIGHT INSIDE IS MID-MORNING, when the blue glass in the dome is at its strongest. THE SURROUNDING GARDENS AND THE LAKE are public and free. Shah Alam is a planned city and is not walkable between districts.

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