Putra Mosque

Seen from the bridges of Putrajaya, the Putra Mosque appears to float on the edge of its lake: a great rose-coloured dome patterned in pink and white, a slender minaret, and walls of rose-tinted granite reflected in still water. It is the principal mosque of Malaysia's federal administrative capital and its most recognisable landmark, known to many visitors simply as the Pink Mosque. Construction began in 1997 and the building was completed in 1999, at a reported cost of around 250 million ringgit. It takes its name from Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the country's first prime minister, and the idea for it is credited to Mahathir Mohamad, who was prime minister when it was built.

The design draws on the Persian architecture of the Safavid era, blended with modern construction. Visitors enter through a monumental gateway in the manner of Isfahan into a broad sahn, an open courtyard with flowing water and palms that slopes gently towards the prayer hall, so that rows of worshippers can extend from inside to out; the courtyard alone holds about 5,000 people and the whole complex around 15,000. Beside the gate rises the 116-metre minaret, built on an eight-pointed-star plan and divided into five tiers that stand for the five pillars of Islam. The main dome, 36 metres across, is ringed by eight smaller domes, and the transition from the square prayer hall to the round dome is made through an octagon, a device borrowed from traditional mosque building. Inside, muqarnas carved in three dimensions and set with glass catch the light in the upper corners, and the pulpit follows Egyptian models, carved with local flowers and foliage.

Putrajaya itself is a planned city laid out from the mid-1990s south of Kuala Lumpur to house the federal government. The mosque stands on Putra Square, the ceremonial heart of the city, next to the Perdana Putra complex that houses the Prime Minister's Office, on the shore of the artificial Putrajaya Lake.

Getting there

The Putra Mosque is on Putra Square in Putrajaya, Malaysia, at the city's centre. Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) is about 21 km away in a straight line. Putrajaya Sentral, about 2 km to the west, is served by the KLIA Transit airport rail line and the MRT Putrajaya Line, with buses onward to the square.