Islamic Arts Museum
With the trip coming to a close, we're motivated to make the most of our remaining time in Kuala Lumpur. So today, we made our way to the Islamic Arts Museum of Malaysia.
This museum has over 7000 artefacts from the Islamic world: the largest collection in SE Asia, and with many displays that would be difficult to find in North America.
Like, this room about Islamic architecture that contains over a dozen models of famous mosques.
Or this display of ornate, handwritten Qurans.
The museum went on, with extensive collections of Islamic textiles, pottery, jewelry, furniture, and weaponry.
One of the most interesting aspects of the museum was its decidedly not Eurocentric description of historical events. For example, there was a display about Tipu Sultan that describes him as having spent his rule resisting the invasion of the British East India Company, with a military that "surpassed the British troops in many aspects." Ultimately though, Seringapatam fell, and Tipu Sultan was killed.
"It is far better to live like a lion for a day than to live like a jackal for a hundred years" - Tipu Sultan of Mysore, 1750-1799 AD.
There was also an unapologetically pro-Palestinian display about Palestine. Again, just a very different take from your typical Western history book.
On our way back from the museum, we snapped a few shots of the more impressive buildings in this area of KL. Like this television station.
And this old train station.
Finally, it was time for the near-daily "walk home in a tropical rain storm without getting wet" challenge. This city is full of awnings for a reason.
