The Terengganu Inscription Stone
The oldest written evidence of Islam in Malaysia.
Syadhh — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wiki Farazi — CC0 · Wiki Farazi — CC0
A huge museum complex on twenty-three hectares at Losong Hill on the bank of the Terengganu River, often described as one of the largest museum complexes in Southeast Asia. Its main building is four linked wings raised on stilts, drawing on Terengganu's traditional timber houses, so from afar it looks like a royal village above the gardens. Its most precious piece is the Terengganu Inscription Stone, a fourteenth-century stone carved in Jawi, Malay in Arabic script, and regarded as the oldest written evidence of Islam's arrival in Malaysia. Other galleries hold royal textiles and gold-woven songket, brass and wood crafts, the history of the sultanate, and an Islamic gallery of Qurans and manuscripts. In the gardens stand traditional wooden palaces moved here, and a maritime section with the traditional boats Terengganu was famous for. Entry for foreign visitors is about fifteen ringgit per adult and ten per child. It opens Saturday to Thursday 09:00-17:00, and on Fridays 09:00-12:00 and 15:00-17:00, closing on the first two days of both Eids. Allow two hours at least, as the complex is large, and come in the morning, since moving between wings and gardens is sometimes exposed to the sun. It is the best place to understand Terengganu's Islamic history before visiting its mosques.
The oldest written evidence of Islam in Malaysia.
Textiles woven with gold thread.
Wooden palaces and traditional boats in the gardens.
Bukit Losong, about 5 km west of the city centre
The Terengganu Inscription Stone first, one of the most important historical objects in all Malaysia, then the textile gallery and the wooden palaces in the gardens. Allow two hours at least.
