the 30-minute tour at the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

i don't know if i was only influenced by online reviews, but the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia was the place i was most curious about in Kuala Lumpur during my short jaunt there. hence, it's where i decided to go first before anywhere else.

though the people i asked at the KL Sentral train station were clueless about it, i still managed to find my way by myself. that was only after an hour of figuring out which train to ride on and what station to get off at using the map given by my boss. i got lost for a little while there and it was quite unfortunate that i arrived thirty minutes before the museum closed for the day. it would have gotten more unpleasant had the receptionist not given up on hiding the fact that she had change for my bill and not let me buy my pass. she made amends to me though by having me pay only the student rate.

one of the many domes of the museum

with only half an hour and no other time for the rest of my KL trip to go back there, i had no choice but to tour in haste. i wish i could stay for an hour or so in their cafe and take my time looking through the items and artifacts, able to read the labels on their glass boxes. those didn't happen but that's not to say i didn't have a good time.

this, i presume a cigarette holder, has ornamentation that really fascinated me 

i can't find the right words to describe how i felt while i was hurrying through the galleries they have. but i have to say i never felt that good about being a Muslim. i guess that's just how arts can stir someone's emotions, especially if they're something that you can relate to or a part of your being.

a pagoda-inspired mosque

the first gallery that i had to walk through consisted of miniature mosques, the regular kinds with the turrets and domes. leaving that gallery and heading to another one, i passed by more glass boxes with miniature structures that resembled ancient Chinese architecture. i have already seen (in pictures mostly) mosques in different constructions but these ones were new to me and I just adored more how flexible Islamic architecture is.

when i got to the Qur'an and Manuscripts gallery, my jaw dropped when i saw a book that was a remnant of the Ottoman Empire. in my mind i was telling myself, "how cool is this?"

 there were also volumes of Qur'an that date back to the 17th Century from China.

with my time running out, i just quickly looked at the other exhibits and took photos of items i found interesting. i specifically liked the armor and (bolo) knife in the below picture. this is so Game of Thrones, South-East Asian edition!

it was not the first Islamic museum i visited but the thirty minute tour educated me enormously on the existence of something i never really paid attention to-- the Islamic arts. it made me see this one side that's very universal about my religion and i hope that not just the Muslims, but every one would have the chance to be introduced to it and appreciate it the way that i do now.

i was really there, okay? hehe.