HOA_Lee Xue Mei_Islamic Art Museum

Lee Xue Mei (1104306)

Visit to the Museum

I never really thought the experience of visiting to the museum would be so impressive until the trip to the Islamic Art Museum. When I stepped onto the first floor of the museum, I was greeted by a lot of mosque architectural models. I always love admiring at those building miniatures, not only to admire the neat skills of the architects, but also observe the details of both interior and exterior sides. The models display different mosque design from all over the world. Without any doubts, the design of every single mosque amazed me and I spent quite much time just admiring and studying the mosque structure.

I found the mosque structure and design are different depending on its location. For example, the mosque in Xi'an, China is built like the ordinary Chinese temple. I was kinda surprised when I first saw it because I never thought it'd be a mosque without the label. Another example would be Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Turkey. It has a mix of the western building structure, probably because of the Turkish culture. Since Turkey is located at the border of Asia and Europe, the building structure has somehow been influenced by both Eastern and Western styles. Personally, I like Sultan Ahmed Mosque, not only because it has a mix of different style, the unique dome design also amazed me.

 Architectural model of Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Turkey

Sketch of Sultan Ahmed Mosque

Architectural model of Xi'an Mosque, China

Looking up can be rewarding! Another interesting thing I found was the dome design of the museum. It was awesome and so much details can be seen craving on it.

Greeted by this huge white dorm with Arabian letters written on it

Blue dome

Orange dome

I was then greeted by the embroidered velvet robe that is very well-decorated with floral design on it. It is golden flora in black dress. I like the dress outline that makes it look elegant and eye-catchy from the first look of it.

Sketch of Embroidered Velvet Robe (19th Century)

Another thing is the illuminated manuscript technique I found in the Al-Quran. It has nice vivid colors with clear figures on a golden background. 

Illuminated Manuscripts

In overall, it was a nice experience for me and I got to know more about the Islamic history from all over the world. I'd pay a visit to it again when the right time comes.