

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Mencari Diri dan Erti".

ISBN 983-42031-0-1, Jun 2006

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Membela Syiar yang Asal"

ISBN 983-42031-1-x, May 2007

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Sirih Pulang ke Gagang?"









Saturday, November 22, 2008

Views from Pulau Duyung, Terengganu...

Today, I'd like to share some pictures taken off a jetty at Pulau Duyung in Terengganu. Come...

OK. Pulau Duyung is an island which sits inside the Terengganu river near to the estuary. The words Pulau Duyung literally means "island of the mermaid".

Actually there's two islands there going by that name, a big and small one hence the name Pulau Duyung Besar (big mermaid island) and Pulau Duyung Kecil (kecil means small in Malay). Seen here is a view of the main bridge from the city of Kuala Terengganu crossing to the other side of the Terengganu river, passing through the Duyung islands. The city centre could be seen behind the bridge.

Here is a closer look of the hill near the city, known as Bukit Besar (the big hill). On it are the words Allah (in Jawi writing) peliharankanlah Terengganu (God preserve Terengganu).

From the same jetty, one could also see the crystal mosque and some buildings forming the Taman Tamadun Islam (Islamic Civilisation Park ) on Pulau (island of) Wan Man.

A closer look at the crystal mosque, a new pride of Terengganu completed and officiated early this year.

A look towards inland Terengganu river.

The river extends some 50km inland until the parts where a dam is in place creating a huge man-made lake called Tasik (lake of) Kenyir. That's all...

Friday, November 21, 2008

New trip to the East Coast - Tomb and mosque of Tok Ku Paloh revisited

Peace be upon you all. Following my latest visit to the East Coast where I revisited some places, I'd like to present a series of articles starting with this...

OK. This is the mosque of Tok Ku Paloh, a very prominent 19th Century religious man said to be of saintly status, situated some 3 km outside the city of Kuala Terengganu. The full official name of the mosque is Masjid (mosque of) Almarhum (the deceased) Engku Saiyid Abdul Rahman Tok Ku Paloh.

His real name is Saiyid Abdul Rahman, Saiyid being an inherited title signifying him as from the lineage of prophet Muhammad SAW. The title Engku is a calling attributed to some members of the royal family... and in some countries like Terengganu, a descendant of the prophet is considered a royalty.

Tok is short form for Datuk or Datok (in normal usage a calling for a grandfather, also for a respected elder) and Ku being a short form for Engku. As he was based mainly in Kampung (village) of Paloh where this mosque is situated at, thus Saiyid Abdul Rahman is known as Tok Ku Paloh.

I've been to this mosque quite a few times and have slept here nearly as many times. Everytime, I would make a point to at least take a wash if not a bath using the water from this well.

A unique feature of this well is the lever system for taking out water using a metal pail. In the picture is my friend Shamsul Yunos having a closer look and taking some pictures.

Oh! This latest trip to the East Coast was actually made to visit and take pictures of some chosen mosques. It is for a coffee-table book project we're working on for a certain publication.

We also visited Tok Ku Paloh's tomb some 300 metres from the mosque.

The tomb is situated inside this building. For some more pictures on the subject do have a look at the articles Gambar bersejarah Kuala Terengganu (Historical pictures of Kuala Terengganu) and Gambar berkaitan Tokku Paloh (Pictures to do with Tokku Paloh) made in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) end of 2006. Malay readers can also refer to the article Keluarga besar Tokku Paloh, wali agung Terengganu abad ke 19 Masihi... made in the blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU half a year ago.