Kuching City Mosque is a mosque in Kuching, Sarawak. Formerly the State Mosque of Kuching. The Kuching City Mosque is a landmark building in Kuching. It is also known as Old Mosque’ or ‘Old State Mosque’ and stands on a low hill overlooking the Sarawak River. It is located off Jalan Market, on the site of the first mosque that was built in 1847 by the family of a famous Malay leader, Datuk Patinggi Ali.
The present mosque was built in 1968 to replace an original wooden building erected in 1852, although the first mosque on the site was erected in 1840, making it the oldest site of a mosque in Kuching. The current mosque’s architecture was formulated in the 1960s and features a central golden onion-shaped dome of Mughal influence, it is flanked with four smaller domes which sit on an open elevated base. It has no detached minaret, instead, there are six smaller attached minarets, each surmounted with cupolas and onion-shaped domes. The mosque’s building is finished with modern-style crenelations on the parapet wall with a series of moon-crescent finials on top of its pilasters. The main central onion-shaped dome is made out of lightweight metal in golden yellow colour that is used to indicate the main prayer hall located below. The large onion-shaped dome is used to express the importance or grandeur of the structure as compared to its surroundings.
At the front is a pavilion linked to the main entrance, with a modernist approach dome, perched on a terrazzo-clad platform with three leading steps, up to the main prayer hall, and two more steps to the upper female prayer gallery. The interior space is passively lit with natural lighting through glass windows and louvred blocks.
The Intricate Italian porcelain tiles ornament were used in the interior walls of the mosque and has added to the charm to the mosque. A grand chandelier from France continues to function. The qibla front wall is marked with a blind arch featuring repetitive names of Allah prescribed on a teak wood tile. It is also where the mihrab niche is located, and a timber minbar platform placed to its right.
The Kuching City Mosque has a two-storeyed building housing the administration office, classrooms, a guest room and a meeting room next to the mosque building.
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