This mosque in Malaysia is clad in glass and steel, and it glitters like crystal.
It is Masjid Kristal, the Crystal Mosque, in Kuala Terengganu, on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It stands on Wan Man Island, where the Terengganu River meets the South China Sea.
It was built between 2006 and 2008, and officially opened on the eighth of February, 2008.
It is part of the Islamic Civilisation Park, which opened in the same month and has replicas of famous Islamic monuments, such as the Taj Mahal and the Dome of the Rock.
The glass catches the light, which is how the mosque earned its name. In daylight, its domes and minarets look gold and bronze.
A main dome, flanked by eight smaller domes, crowns the building, with many more small domes across the roof, and four minarets rise around it.
Writers describe its style as sleek and modern, with Moorish and Gothic touches. At dusk, colourful lights make the glass glow, and the mosque is reflected in the river.
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Inside, crystal chandeliers hang in the prayer hall, and calligraphy is etched into frosted glass. Sources differ on how many worshippers it holds, from about seven hundred to fifteen hundred.
It has been called the first smart mosque in Malaysia, with Wi-Fi and IT systems built in.
A mosque of the twenty-first century, in glass and steel, beside a river that meets the sea.
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