Kuaka Lumpur: National Planetarium (grounds)

Added: Mar 11, 2010

From: newlifeinbangkok

Duration: 3:23

The Malaysian National Planetarium is sited the peak of the hill; it is a stunning structure topped with a blue-dome and fashioned in the extravagant Islamic styling, shapes and patterns of the country. Today though it too is shut, its vast staircase deathly quiet, leading up to the observation tower where a 14-inch telescope allows visitors to peer out at worlds far far away. In the Planetarium's grounds there are several unusual, but excellent, replicas. The first is of England's Stonehenge, which once looked out at distant worlds in a time forgotten, and by people forgotten, and the circle of slabs is recreated here. Next to it is the Jai Singh Observatory, a giant sundial built by Raja Sawai Jai Singh in Delhi, India in 1724, complete with its narrow stairway shooting upwards and its two curving 'tusks'. The trio of replicas is completed by the Guo Shou Jing Observatory, a source of time, date and astronomical information that once helped to bring order to life in China as well as cementing the Emperor's grip on the country. Further round the Planetarium's grounds there is the steel-and-tiled Merdeka Sun Clock (Jam Chap Matahari Merdeka in Malaysian), set atop a small flight of steps, that uses the eleven pointed star and crescent of the national flag to tell the time and position in the zodiac calendar. This small park contains other artifacts dedicated to observation of space and the stars and there is an unusual stainless-steel sculpture encrusted with Arabic numbers that is dedicated to the smooth flow of space and time. Setting off down the hill and back to the city, there are a string of further gardens and the Police Museum with an array of small cannons and other artillery and a light aircraft visible in the grounds, although it too is shut today. Chasing back to city level and the period is brought up to-date-with the modern concrete structural lines of the squat National Mosque, the imposingly square-cut shape of the Islamic Arts Museum and the equally impressive - and a little foreboding - shape of the vast department of religious affairs. Keeping in the styling theme, next to these buildings is the old railway station and the railway headquarters building and the hustle-and-bustle of the city.

Channel: Travel

Tags: kuala  lumpur  national  planetarium  malaysia  jai  singh  dehli  observatory  raja  sawai  telescope  guo  shou  jing  china  merdeka  sun  clock  jam  chap  matahari  department  of  religious  affairs  police  museum  islamic  arts  mosque  zodiac 

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