 |
| The Old Mosque or Ihsaniah Iskandariah Mosque at Kg Kuala Dal |
I noticed the mosque in 2008 when driving to Taiping via the old road. Even though it was it dilapidated and worn by the weather it was worthy to make a stop and photograph it. Two years later when i happened to pass by again it had been fully restored.
 |
| The condition of the mosque in 2008 |
 |
| Dilapidated and abandoned........ |
 |
| ,,, but it was worth a stop to photograph the mosque |
 |
| ..thatched kelarai panels ....and a rosette in the centre |
The old mosque at Kg Kuala Dal is situated about 5km from Kuala Kangsar on the old road to Padang Rengas. It was built in 1936 during the time of the then Sultan of Perak, Sultan Iskandar Shah.
 |
| The mosque after the upgrade |
A report by the Star (dated Mar 2010) stated the early mosque was constructed by Chinese artisans with
assistance from the local community in their traditional gotong-royong manner.
It didn’t say
who designed it but it clearly stands out as uniquely original. In fact I have
not seen another design like it in the whole of Perak…maybe also the country.
It is a two
floors structure, full timber on a concrete base and has a rectangular plan
with 'four boxes' at the corners.
 |
| Four boxes .... |
 |
| ...at the corners ....a rectangular plan |
The walls
were lined with thatched kelarai panels
with a continuous diamond design and at the center of each panel was a rosette.
The top
floor is the prayer hall and has full French windows, latticework and fixed
louvres certainly suitable to enable adequate lighting and ventilation. From what I could make out from viewing the old structure, the ceiling was made of
timber.
The
downstairs is similar but above the windows are a fanlight which resembles
twining leaves and above that cut-outs of crescents moons and stars.
 |
| Top floor is the prayer hall.... |
 |
| Upgraded mosque has the state colors ..and windows have cut-outs of crescent moon and stars |
Imagine that
this was constructed in the 1930 says a lot for the artisans then.
Ihsaniah
Iskandariah mosque was in use till 1976 when another mosque Masjid Al- Wahidah,
was built at a site close to it after which it was abandoned and fell into disrepair.
The Department
of National Heritage restored it in 2008 and was accorded heritage status after
its completion in 2009.
The upgraded
mosque has the state colors of yellow, black and white similar to Istana
Kenangan at nearby Bukit Chandan.
A worthwhile
piece of restoration for the present generation to appreciate and learn more about
our heritage passed down through the generations.
JAG
No comments:
Post a Comment