The folded roof
A sixteen-ribbed concrete umbrella in place of a dome, a national icon.
Ariyanto — CC BY-SA 4.0 · CEphoto, Uwe Aranas — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Marcin Konsek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC0
Instead of the usual dome, this mosque is crowned by a roof shaped like a folded umbrella with sixteen ribs, drawn from a doubled eight-pointed star, and it has become one of the defining images of modern Malaysia. It opened in 1965, a few years after independence, holds around fifteen thousand worshippers, and its minaret rises seventy-three metres over gardens and reflecting pools. The building is one of the finest examples of 1960s modernism in the Muslim world: concrete, slender columns and open colonnades that let the air move through, a clever answer to a tropical climate. Walking the wide, shaded galleries around the prayer hall is calm, and the shallow pools around them reflect the folded roof in lovely photographs. For Muslim visitors the mosque is open for prayer at all times, and praying Dhuhr or Asr here is worth doing. Non-Muslim visitors have set times and the mosque is closed to them outside these: mornings until noon, an hour after Asr, a short window before Maghrib, and on Fridays in the afternoon only. Entry is free, robes with headscarves are lent free at the entrance for anyone who needs them, and shoes come off before the galleries. It is within walking distance of the Islamic Arts Museum and the Perdana Botanical Gardens, with the Moorish old railway station across the road, so all four fit into one morning.
A sixteen-ribbed concrete umbrella in place of a dome, a national icon.
Wide shaded galleries open to the breeze, a refuge from midday heat.
Shallow water around the mosque mirrors the roof beautifully.
Jalan Perdana, near the old railway station, Kuala Lumpur
Islamic Arts Museum MalaysiaThe largest museum of Islamic art in Southeast Asia, and arguably the finest thi3 minutes walk4.6
Kuala Lumpur Old Railway StationA railway station that looks like a Mughal palace: white domes, little turrets, 4 minutes walk4.3
Royal Malaysian Police MuseumA small free museum telling the history of policing in Malaysia, from the guards5 minutes walk4.6
KL Bird ParkYou do not look at the birds through cages here; you walk among them. The park s5 minutes walk4.3
Sri Maha Mariamman TempleA twenty-two-metre gateway tower covered in hundreds of painted carved figures r6 minutes walk4.5The National Mosque is in the centre and pairs with the museums in one morning with no journey. Putra Mosque is more photogenic with its pink dome on the lake but costs half a day to reach Putrajaya. With little time, start with the National Mosque.