Islamic Arts

One of the drawbacks of traveling the megatrip way is that after eight exotic countries in a row, one begins to get a bit over-confident about the ease of travel and shows up in her first Muslim country wearing her least-conservative sundress. Oops.

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from Phuket, Thailand (Where I did some amazing dives and got to hang out with some cute Aussies, but otherwise think Phuket is what you'd get if Paradise and Wal-Mart had a lovechild. I've never seen so much crap - er, consumable goods - available for purchase congregated on a tropical peninsula before.... And add to that the tourists, the prostitutes, and the tourists who are there for the prostitutes. A swell place... to run from.)

Malaysia is a former British colony and is officially Islamic, though Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity are also practiced in certain parts. Most women are veiled, and most veils are very fashionable with an array of different colors, patterns, decoration, and ornaments. I also saw quite the range of modesty: From the full-black-only-eyes-showing niqab, to no veil at all. So, there seems to be some wiggle-room for different religions and interpretations of religions. Kuala Lumpur is particularly Westernized, so women can really get away with wearing almost anything.

Islam arrived on the Malaysian Peninsula from Arab and Indian traders during the 13th century. (Interesting tidbit: I read that one of the reasons for Islam's great success was that - aside from the if-possible pilgrimage to Mecca - the Pillars/rules were relatively simple to follow compared to other popular religions of the time, especially for traders, farmers and nomadic peoples. Praying 5 times each day is much more practical than having a dedicated holy day or holy building at which to be present each week. ) Astronomy plays an important role in Islam and early Muslims invented the world's first observatories, in addition to many other scientific contributions.

What really blew me away (and increased my understanding and appreciation of the religion) is the Islamic art and architecture. I visited the Islamic Arts Museum, which was recommended to me by a guy I met in Phuket (and unfortunately didn't allow photos). It had a floor full of models of the famous mosques across Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Iran, China and India. There was a gallery of Qur'ans showing their marbled pages with swirls of gold, reds and blues. The ceramics, tapestries, metalwork and woodcarvings were highly detailed with geometric patterns, bright colors, and Arabic and Persian calligraphy. The exhibits were very well-done and informative, and the visualry made it really easy to get lost in an Arabian Nights dreamland... It was honestly the prettiest museum I've ever seen, and I think my next trip will be to North Africa or the Middle East.

Islam influences much of Kuala Lumpur's architecture, and thus, the city is gorgeous. The Central Square area contains several buildings with Mughal (domed roofs) or Moor (red brick and cream) architecture. The famous Petronas towers are based on the Eight-Pointed Star, and the five tiers of the top floors represent the 5 Pillars of Islam. The Star is also carved all over the city, showing up on buildings, sidewalks, and bridges. The centerpiece of KL is a massive park, with a bird sanctuary home to peacocks and rhinoceros hornbills, and tropical gardens filled with orchids, butterflies and monkeys.

On the day I visited the park, I saw a bride and groom wearing beautiful bright pink wedding attire, the bride in a pink sequined veil. So when a Malaysian woman at the locals market offered to dress me up in a traditional bridal outfit, I accepted enthusiastically. She gave me a turquoise silk wrap and put a sequined veil on my head, which ironically made more look more like the Virgin Mary than a Muslim bride. More seriously, I also visited a mosque with a strict policy of no limbs/no hair showing. Fortunately they provided cloaks and veils for tourists. There are pictures of course, which are just not going to be posted on the internet. Here are some pretty orchids instead. =)