Moroccan zellige
Interlocking coloured tilework over the walls.
Azreey — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cerevisae — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cerevisae — CC BY-SA 4.0
A piece of Fez and Marrakesh in the middle of a tropical garden in Malaysia: a small pavilion built and decorated by craftsmen brought from Morocco, a gift marking the friendship between the two countries, in the Andalusian-Moroccan style with coloured zellige, carved plaster, sculpted wood, arches and inner courtyards with fountains. The details are everything here: interlocking zellige covering the walls, fine plaster tracery on the arches, painted wooden ceilings over the halls, and a courtyard fountain ringed by columns. Anyone who has seen Morocco's palaces will recognise the style at once; anyone who has not will find a genuine glimpse of it here. Entry is a token fee of about RM 3 for adults. The pavilion closes on Tuesdays and over midday, and on Fridays it keeps shorter hours around Friday prayers. Professional photo shoots may be charged separately. It is small, and half an hour to an hour is enough. It sits inside the Putrajaya Botanical Garden on the lakeshore, so it combines with the garden and the Putra Mosque in one outing. Come in the morning, when the light is soft on the ornament and visitors are few.
Interlocking coloured tilework over the walls.
An inner courtyard with a colonnaded fountain.
Decorated by craftsmen brought from Morocco.
Inside the Putrajaya Botanical Garden, Precinct 1
Putrajaya Botanical GardenA large garden on the shore of Putrajaya Lake gathering plants from tropical reg4 minutes walk
Putra MosqueA pink mosque, its dome and walls clad in rose-tinted granite, standing on the e11 minutes walk4.6
Putra Square and Perdana PutraThe broad central square at the heart of Putrajaya, laid out as a great star and12 minutes walk
Seri Wawasan BridgeA cable-stayed bridge that from a distance looks like a tilted sail or a futuris24 minutes walkAnyone who knows Morocco's palaces will find little new, though meeting the style in Malaysia is a pleasure. For those who have not, it is one of the loveliest things in Putrajaya, for a token fee.