Tourists Flock To Malaysia's Putra Mosque During Chinese New Year Holiday

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 19 (Bernama) -- Local and foreign tourists make optimum use of the Chinese New Year holiday to visit and enjoy the beauty of Putra Mosque, one of the distinctive landmarks here Thursday. Aminah Azizan, 30, said she and her family came to visit the mosque, which was named after Malaysia's first prime minister, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, because she wanted to see with her own eyes the beauty and interesting architecture of the mosque. "The architectural structure of the mosque is indeed extraordinary. It feels serene and calm here," Aminah, who is a clerk at a private company in the southern state of Johor, told Bernama here Thursday. She also praised the public facilities, including toilets, car park and eateries, made available for the convenience of the tourists. Meanwhile, a businessman from Melaka state, Mohd Samad Samsuddin, 52, said the panoramic view from the mosque, which is located on the edge of Putrajaya Lake, lured him to take his family and friends here. "From the mosque, we can enjoy the beauty of the lake and the surrounding area. The Putra Mosque is sitting as if afloat on Putrajaya Lake, hence make it so beautiful," he said. Mohd Samad said the mosque had become the centre of attraction in Putrajaya, Malaysia's administrative capital, as it combined the Middle Eastern and traditional Malay design elements. Foreign tourist Mohan Sivalingam from New Delhi, India, said he came here to see the mosque with his own eyes as he had read about it on the Internet. "So, what I read on the Internet was true. The mosque is indeed unique. I cannot describe the feeling, but it has some kind of positive aura," he said. The construction of Putra Mosque began in 1997 and was completed two years later. It was built on a 1.37-hectare site at a cost of RM250 million. -- BERNAMA