Masjid Jamek

Being a good tourist, I next headed to see some of Kuala Lumpur's noted historical sites.  I exited at Masjid Jamek into a crowd of stalls selling plates of food and snacks and discount headscarves and clothing, with a Burger King gleaming on the corner behind, and a traffic jam all around.  I made my way around the corner through all the shopping women and walked alongside a small and dirty canal.  On the opposite side stood the domed mosque I had seen from the train, Masjid Jamek, which gave the station its name.  As it was Friday, the Muslim holy day, the grounds were especially busy with men washing their hands in large fountains and sitting in the shaded porticoes--61% of the population, mostly ethnic Malays, are Muslims.

The mosque is a beautiful building--warm tan stone with stripes of creamy white marble, with three white onion domes. The minarets at the corners were topped with matching miniature domes, and the porticoes were outlined with white trim in an undulating geometric pattern.  The ornate decor was a pleasing contrast with the shiny steel-and-glass of the sky scrapers behind.