You want to visit 22 of the world's most important Islamic monuments but only have a couple of hours? Concorde booked? No worries, head to the Malaysian city of Kuala Terengganu and go visit the interesting Taman Tamadun Islam, the Islamic Civilization Park.
They've created an amazing place, scale models of famous Islamic sites. Sure, you're thinking, big train sets, big whoop. Nope, the structures may be small, but they're not miniatures. The scale is 1:10, maybe as large as 1:2. Think big when going small.
First stop, Süleymaniye mosque in Turkey.
Wait, how can one tell how big that mosque is? We need a lovely model for scale. Here's Sarah, pointing at Al Haram mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. There's a nice variety to the places and time periods displayed - a romp around the globe and eras. On the right, the great mosque of Agadez, Niger.
Foreground, great mosque of Samarra in Iraq. Background, an Indian bauble, Taj something...
Getting big, the grand jewel of the park, a scale model of the Dome of the Rock from Jerusalem, Israel. In the park, it's called Kubbah As-Sakhrah, Baitul Muqqaddis in Palestine. One thing that's not open to interpretation is the size of the model. Yes, you can walk into the mosque, complete with replica interior. Dare we say, it rocks?
Sheikh Lufallah mosque in Iran. Squint for Sarah (quietly reading) for scale.
More variety, Al-Hambra palace in Spain, Kudus Minar in Indonesia
A more complete look, the iconic angle of Mecca.
They've created an amazing place, scale models of famous Islamic sites. Sure, you're thinking, big train sets, big whoop. Nope, the structures may be small, but they're not miniatures. The scale is 1:10, maybe as large as 1:2. Think big when going small.
First stop, Süleymaniye mosque in Turkey.
Wait, how can one tell how big that mosque is? We need a lovely model for scale. Here's Sarah, pointing at Al Haram mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. There's a nice variety to the places and time periods displayed - a romp around the globe and eras. On the right, the great mosque of Agadez, Niger.
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Getting big, the grand jewel of the park, a scale model of the Dome of the Rock from Jerusalem, Israel. In the park, it's called Kubbah As-Sakhrah, Baitul Muqqaddis in Palestine. One thing that's not open to interpretation is the size of the model. Yes, you can walk into the mosque, complete with replica interior. Dare we say, it rocks?
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More variety, Al-Hambra palace in Spain, Kudus Minar in Indonesia
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