The KK Diaries: The City Mosque

Day 3 - Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Still on the third day.

I rarely see mosques, the Muslim's place of worship here in the Philippines. Actually, I have seen one or two in my life but it wasn't really that grand. My hometown, Davao City, despite being the largest and the regional center of Mindanao is dominated by Christians. Only a small portion of the island is dominated by Islam (see also: Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao).

Part of our itinerary was to visit the City Mosque of Kota Kinabalu. A quick bus trip from Wawasan terminal to the Likas District soon had me riding the highways of the city (which by the way offer a scenic view of the West Philippine Sea). I am not a religious person but I do appreciate the architecture of churches and other places of worship. And like any other first time tourists, I got stunned by its grandeur, diary.

Beautiful is actually an understatement.

I have seen a lot of old churches back in the Philippines. And because my country is dominated by Christians, I have become accustomed to see those big and old cathedrals. Sometimes it came to a point that I no longer appreciate some because it because they all looked the same. I am truly sorry for that.

Seeing the City Mosque of Kota Kinabalu was new to me - it was big, it was grand and most of all, it was majestic. It felt surreal while I took a few snapshots of this place of worship. It was prayer time when we went there, thus we were a bit hesitant to go inside the temple. Brenna and Sophie wore sleeveless and shorts while Yancy, Cho and I wore a shirt and shorts. Oops.

The Kota Kinabalu City Mosque is modeled after the Islamic contemporary architecture. Built near the sea, the mosque houses three madrasahs and can accommodate up to 12,000 devotees at a time, making it the largest mosque in Kota Kinabalu. The man-made lagoon which surrounds the mosque adds a dramatic effect to the mosque most especially on a full moon night or sunset. The City Mosque opens daily except Friday from 8am to 5pm. There are no fees charged on visitors (ahhh shout out to all of my kuripot friends out there!).

At the other side.

Tourists!

Because we were so curious, we went closer to see what's really inside that majestic building. Just as we had predicted, we were not allowed to enter the mosque due to our attire. But nonetheless, we stayed at the parking lot. At least we got closer.

The Big Dome!

This mosque was designed to resemble the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, the final resting place of Mohammad.

Kota Kinabalu City Mosque must be included in your itinerary should you plan to visit Kota Kinabalu City, the capital of the Sabah state. And yes, I'd definitely go back here and capture it on a clear, full moon night!

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Read more of my Kota Kinabalu adventures here.