Photo Essay: Ubidiah Mosque

The mosque, believed to be among the most beautiful in Malaysia, was commissioned by Sultan Idris Murshdul Adzam Shah I (The 28th Sultan of Perak), late in the 19th century as thanksgiving for his recovery from a chrnic illness,
drafting plans for its construction took moe than a decade.

Appointed to build it were Colonel Huxlehy. Supervising Engineer, and Head of The Colonial Public Works Service, Mr. Caulfield, Chief Construction Engineer. After designs were finalized, Sultan Murshidul laid the foundation on Friday, Sept. 26, 1913. The project was budgeted at two hundred thousand dollars and took four years to complete.

Sultan Abdul Jalil Nasanudin Shah officiated on opening ceremonies in 1917, later officially dedicated by Sultan Jalil Karamlatullah. Consisting of Mogul style onion domes aligned along a central dome, four wings, and four smaller domes, and a total of twenty four minarets, designed along Saracenic principles of architecture.

Legend recounts that during the circumcision ritual of Raja Kahlid, son of Abdul
Jalil, his highness elephant, Kulub Ganga, and his Mahout battled the elephant belonging to Raja Chulan, and a corresponding Mahout, Uda Dabuk. The contest between the mammoths destroyed the Carrere marble meant to complete the mosque. Raja Chulan halted the exhibition, but completion was delayed for several months because of WW I. This obstacle was soon surmounted, and the exquisite edifice was finally finished to please future generations.