Unthinkable Facts About The Mosque

Something we don't expect to know and we might really don't know but it must exist. There are some interesting facts about Masjid Kampung Kling :

• Two mosques in the same neighbourhood : one other historical place which is Masjid Kampung Hulu is located nearer

• The design is similar to Masjid Demak, Jawa.

• This mosque will soon be renamed to "Masjid Wan Sulung"

• The design of the mosque is influence by Sumatran, Chinese, Hindu and local designs.

• The mosque is also known with a few other names such as Kampung Pali mosque, Kampung Balik Pali mosque, and Kampung Kapur mosque

Elements Of The Design

Generally, the outlook of the mosque is obviously blend designs of Chinese and Indian Muslim. Chinese were famous with their hand-crafting long time ago so everything would look very beautiful. The mimbar is elaborately crafted with Chinese flavored woodcarving motifs. There is a good blend of geometric and organic motifs that gives attraction to the mimbar with significantly Chinese peony motifs, lotus and chrysanthemum. The open work of abacus-like carvings with complimented the panel components on the mimbar, highlighted with gilded gold overlaid. The cornice all around the mosque used lattice and vegetal motifs.

The designation of Kampung Kling mosque is similar and can be said shared by Kampung Laut Mosque in Kelantan, and Demak Mosque in Java. It is also similar to Sri Poyatha Moorthi Temple and Cheng Hoon Teng Temple and this the reason Jalan Tukang Emas where the mosque is located is known as 'Harmony Street'.

Unique Materials Used

Among the most amazing and historical buildings, there will be some unique and unthinkable things that we might be discovered. Especially in building the Kampung Kling mosque, the builders were mostly from local Chinese and the materials used were mostly imported from China that were brought by Muslim traders.
       

From the floor to the wall's parts of the mosque, they are covered with ceramic tiles and the interior is heavily ornamented porcelain tiles. Moreover, from the main prayer hall continued with the corridor, the floor are laid with marble throughout.

       

Story on the three-tiered roofs, they are made of red clay tiles and were manufactured by local Chinese. The crown at the roof is believed to be carved from coral. The original four columns of the roofs are made of belian hard wood, while the subsequent columns of lesser woods supporting the first and second level roofs that had been replaced with concrete.

At the mosque entrance, the gateway arch is made of concrete, with the roof using Chinese porcelain tiles imported from China. The pinnacle above the arch is a lotus-shaped 'tunjuk langit' made of iron.

The ablution area is a raised concrete supported by metal pillar resembling Corinthian columns. The staircases on all sides are laid with unglazed red tiles with porcelain tiles adding attractiveness to the bases. The metal barricades fencing the surrounding the porch is painted in silver with the floral motifs with gold painted.

The Building Concept and Layout

  





The picture of minaret on the left was built with pagoda concept that resemble to a Chinese Pagoda. It has six-storey of building and was erected at the corner and not very near from the mosque. This square standing pagoda-like minaret structured with spiral staircases all the way to the top.
For each level of storey, there has small windows that act as ventilation and viewpoints from the inside.

The main interior design of the mosque is focuses on the mihrab wall and a hut that was placed on the left side called minbar. The mihrab is attached like a maksura with four round column arcades.

There are four belian timber columns from the original mosque which support the roof structure on the top most.The top of the three-tiered roof gives way to generous clerestory windows all around. The roof of the mosque is crowned by a mastaka of which the height to its pinnacle would enable the whole mosque to be inscribed into an almost perfect cube.

Why "Kling" but not Malay or Chinese?

When we talk about the name of the mosque, it is quite unique and rare because of the "Kling" is mentioned as all of us had acknowledged that mosque is mostly for Malay community in Malaysia.


     Back to the question on why "Kling", the reason is when the time Kampung Kling mosque was built, the neighborhood of Kampung Kling, which runs along the coast to the west of the Malacca River, was primarily inhabited by South Indians or ‘Klings’. Built by Indian Muslim traders in the year 1748, the Kampong Kling mosque is one of the oldest mosques in Malaysia which still retains its original design.