The Verandah of Mecca
The story of Islam in Kelantan.
Wen Yin-Ping — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gula Kapas — CC BY 3.0 · Masmy 86 — CC BY-SA 4.0
A small museum in a two-storey timber building shaped like a mosque, its walls adorned with Quranic verses in Arabic calligraphy, telling the story of how Islam reached and spread through Kelantan, the state nicknamed the Verandah of Mecca for its deep piety and many scholars. The building was first the residence of the state's chief minister and then, from 1917 to 1990, the seat of Kelantan's Islamic Council, before becoming a museum that opened in 1991. The ground floor holds the exhibits, manuscripts, inscriptions, documents and artefacts that bear witness to the roots of Islam in the state, and the upper floor houses a library. A foreign adult ticket is about four ringgit; it opens from half past eight in the morning to a quarter to five and closes on Fridays. It stands beside the Muhammadi Mosque, the city's most venerable mosque, so combine the two in one visit, then carry on to Istana Jahar, Istana Batu and the War Museum nearby.
The story of Islam in Kelantan.
Verses on the timber walls.
Documents from the roots of Islam in the state.
Jalan Hospital, beside the Muhammadi Mosque in central Kota Bharu
Muhammadi Mosque (State Mosque)Kelantan's state mosque and the most venerable mosque in Kota Bharu, first built1 minute walk
War Museum (Bank Kerapu)A stone building put up in 1912 for Kelantan's first bank, the Mercantile Bank o1 minute walk
Istana Jahar (Royal Traditions and Customs Museum)An elegant nineteenth-century timber palace in the heart of Kota Bharu's old roy1 minute walk
Istana Batu Royal MuseumAn elegant yellow palace built in 1939 under Sultan Ismail as a wedding gift for2 minutes walk
Siti Khadijah MarketKota Bharu's central market and the best-known market on the east coast, in an o5 minutes walkBecause for centuries it has been known for its religious scholars and the study circles in its mosques, whose students went on to continue their studies in Mecca, and religious life remains strong there today.