Welcome to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia and the most populous city in the country, set on the central west coast of the Malay Peninsula. It began around 1857 as a town serving the region's tin mines, and figures such as Yap Ah Loy and Frank Swettenham shaped its early growth. It was the founding capital of the Federation of Malaya and then of Malaysia. Today it is one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in Southeast Asia, and it is home to the tallest twin buildings in the world. UNESCO named it World Book Capital 2020. Let's explore.
Petronas Towers
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsIn front of you soar the Petronas Towers, an interlinked pair of 88 storey skyscrapers rising to 451.9 metres. From 1998 to 2004 they were the tallest buildings in the world, until Taipei 101 in Taiwan overtook them. They remain the world's tallest twin skyscrapers, taller even than the original World Trade Center towers in New York. The towers have become an iconic symbol of Malaysian development, and you can spot them from many places across the city, alongside the Kuala Lumpur Tower and Merdeka 118.
Batu Caves
Photo: Chainwit. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsAbout 13 kilometres north of the city, a 325 metre limestone hill hides the Batu Caves. Batu means rock in Malay. The caves were once shelters for the indigenous Temuan people, and in the 1860s Chinese settlers dug guano here to use as fertiliser. An Indian Tamil trader, K. Thamboosamy, promoted the caves as a place of Hindu worship. Today the complex holds many Hindu temples, the most popular a shrine to Murugan, and it is the focal point of the Thaipusam festival in Malaysia. Guarding the site stands a 43 metre statue of Murugan, among the tallest in the world.
Kuala Lumpur Tower
Photo: DvTor8303 · CC0 · Wikimedia CommonsNow rise up the KL Tower, a telecommunication tower that reaches 421 metres with its antenna. It is the highest viewpoint in Kuala Lumpur open to the public, and up in the pod there is a revolving restaurant with panoramic views over the city. Some visitors prefer the hard way: races are held every year in which participants run up the stairs to the top. The tower has a spiritual role too. It serves as an Islamic observatory for spotting the crescent moon that marks the start of Ramadan and other important months.
Merdeka Square
Photo: Haakon S. Krohn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsStand on this broad green and imagine midnight on 31 August 1957. It was here, on Independence Square, that the Union Flag was lowered and the Malaysian flag was hoisted for the first time. The square was once the Padang, meaning field in Malay, the cricket green of the Selangor Club. It lies in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, where the colonial administration placed its government buildings west of the Klang River. Ever since independence, this square has been the usual venue for the annual Independence Day Parade.
Sultan Abdul Samad Building
Photo: Gerold Kogler · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsFacing the square stands the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, dating from the late 19th century. It first housed the offices of the British colonial administration and was simply called Government Offices. In 1974 it was renamed after Sultan Abdul Samad, who reigned over Selangor when construction began. For years it was home to the country's superior courts, including the Federal Court of Malaysia, until they moved to Putrajaya and Segambut. Later it held government ministries, and today its halls contain galleries, exhibition spaces and cafés.
Petaling Street
Photo: Shesmax · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsWelcome to Petaling Street, the heart of Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown. Get ready to haggle: bargaining is a common sight here, and the street is usually crowded with locals and tourists alike. Dozens of restaurants and food stalls serve favourites such as Hokkien mee, barbecued fish, asam laksa and curry noodles. Most traders are Chinese, but there are Indian, Malay and Bangladeshi traders too. The original Chinatown centred on Market Square and the High Street, which stood higher than the rest of town and flooded less, so wealthier families built their more ornate shophouses there.
Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
Photo: Chainwit. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsWe end at the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, opened in 1998 and the largest museum of Islamic arts in Southeast Asia, with more than 7,000 artefacts from across the Islamic world. Its twelve galleries span two levels, covering architecture, the Qur'an and manuscripts, the arts of India, China and the Malay Peninsula, as well as arms and armour, textiles, jewellery and coins. Keep an eye out for its ancient Islamic glassware. One highlight is a faithfully restored, complete early 19th century Ottoman Room.
Lomakuume
