Halal Travel Guide: Kelantan, Malaysia - Malay Culture, Part 2
Reposted from the web
Summary: The second Kelantan travel account focuses on mosques and local Muslim life around Kota Bharu and Kampung Laut. It records a 1940 wooden house near the state mosque, Kampung Laut Mosque, An-Naim Mosque, prayer during a meal, and the halal Chinese restaurant near the mosque.
Behind the State Mosque stands a wooden house built in 1940 that feels like a mix of a Malay wooden house and gingerbread style. I met the imam of the mosque in front of the wooden house and had a great chat with him.
Kampung Laut Mosque (Masjid Kampung Laut) is located by the Kelantan River north of Kota Bharu and is known as one of the oldest mosques in Malaysia. According to local legends passed down through generations, ancestors set sail from Champa in southern Vietnam to spread the faith in Java, but a storm damaged their boat and left them stranded on the Kelantan coast. They made a dua to build a mosque wherever they could safely dock their boat. Just then, a school of barracuda swam into the boat and plugged the leaks, keeping it from sinking. After the storm, the boat sailed along the Kelantan River and docked safely at Kampung Laut, where the ancestors built the first Kampung Laut Mosque.
There is no clear record of when Kampung Laut Mosque was first built, but it is estimated to be between the 15th and 18th centuries. It is said the original main hall was just a pavilion, and it was not expanded until the late 18th century into a stilt wooden house high enough to tether an elephant. Between 1886 and 1889, the original sago palm leaf roof was replaced with clay tiles, and a wooden minaret was added in the 1890s. Kampung Laut Mosque was destroyed by floods in 1967, then moved to Nilam Puri for reconstruction, and was not moved back to a high platform in Kampung Laut until 2020.
An-Naim Mosque is the municipal mosque of Kota Bharu, located near the Four Seasons Restaurant, the largest halal Chinese restaurant in Kota Bharu. We went to the mosque to pray namaz in the middle of our meal, then went back to finish eating.
Summary: The second Kelantan travel account focuses on mosques and local Muslim life around Kota Bharu and Kampung Laut. It records a 1940 wooden house near the state mosque, Kampung Laut Mosque, An-Naim Mosque, prayer during a meal, and the halal Chinese restaurant near the mosque.
Behind the State Mosque stands a wooden house built in 1940 that feels like a mix of a Malay wooden house and gingerbread style. I met the imam of the mosque in front of the wooden house and had a great chat with him.
Kampung Laut Mosque (Masjid Kampung Laut) is located by the Kelantan River north of Kota Bharu and is known as one of the oldest mosques in Malaysia. According to local legends passed down through generations, ancestors set sail from Champa in southern Vietnam to spread the faith in Java, but a storm damaged their boat and left them stranded on the Kelantan coast. They made a dua to build a mosque wherever they could safely dock their boat. Just then, a school of barracuda swam into the boat and plugged the leaks, keeping it from sinking. After the storm, the boat sailed along the Kelantan River and docked safely at Kampung Laut, where the ancestors built the first Kampung Laut Mosque.
There is no clear record of when Kampung Laut Mosque was first built, but it is estimated to be between the 15th and 18th centuries. It is said the original main hall was just a pavilion, and it was not expanded until the late 18th century into a stilt wooden house high enough to tether an elephant. Between 1886 and 1889, the original sago palm leaf roof was replaced with clay tiles, and a wooden minaret was added in the 1890s. Kampung Laut Mosque was destroyed by floods in 1967, then moved to Nilam Puri for reconstruction, and was not moved back to a high platform in Kampung Laut until 2020.
An-Naim Mosque is the municipal mosque of Kota Bharu, located near the Four Seasons Restaurant, the largest halal Chinese restaurant in Kota Bharu. We went to the mosque to pray namaz in the middle of our meal, then went back to finish eating.
