Musings: the awesome Masjid BESI

Click on images to enlarge.

Main prayer hall.

Late congregation.

I love this masjid I really do. To me it is the perfect model of what a masjid should be: vast, airy, bright with sun-rays during the day and flooded with light at night. This masjid also reminds me of death in some ways. The grave is restricted and small, but we always pray to Allah to make our grave as wide and as far as the eyes can see. This masjid reminds me of that, because you can look past the non-existant walls and see the lakes and bridges and skies beyond; as far as the eyes can see.

Roofed pathway

Nearly sunset..

Mimbar

A lonely Qur'an waiting to be read

The mosque took five years to build and was opened in 2009, named after the best-looking Agong we've had this past century, Tuanku Mizan. But I have to admit, I only knew about it when I started cycling earlier this year, and even then I had breezed through several times without giving it a second thought. It wasn't until I was actually in it, attending a cousin's nikah ceremony that I actually fell in love with it. So in a way, a masjid is kind of like a person; you tak kenal maka you tak cinta (Google translate link upper left corner). Words that are all too cliche I know, but there are no better words to describe it. Luckily Mazlan's never used that line on me, else we would have missed out on a great relationship :P

An awesome dome for a ceiling 

Courtyard

Women's upstairs prayer hall.

Ablution area for men

As the name of the mosque implies, it is mostly built from iron, specifically, 70% of it. You would think that iron is cold, hard and unfriendly. But iron projects light and light is warm and cheerful. So, in my complex mind where a perpetual inner battle resides between nafsu and rational, the iron beams and the steely architecture intrigues me. Buildings-- mosques included--are mostly just concrete and bricks, at least on the surface, therefore this masjid is somewhat extraordinary. The imaginary man of steel (the immortal Clark Kent) has superpowers and can fly. A masjid of iron? Well, iron is stronger than steel so it can definitely propel you to new heights. At least spiritually.

Night View. From Umai Cafe.

Credits to Mazlan who took the awesome pictures, and thanks abang, for always stopping by here for our solat. I love this masjid I really do :)

Masjid Besi, 
Precinct 3, Putrajaya

And in true foodblog style:
Cleanliness: A (really well kept, facilities are great)
Atmosphere: A+ calming
View: A+
Location: A
Parking: A, no problemo

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