Masjid jamek (main mosque of) Sungai Siput, Perak

OK... Saya tak tahu jika ada apa-apa yang istimewa tentang masjid ini tetapi saya tahu saya telah mengalami 2 kali deja vu semasa kali pertama bertandang di sini lebih sebulan lalu. Maka itu biar dikongsi beberapa gambar Masjid Jamek Sungai Siput ini. Mungkin akan ada sesuatu yang berguna? Sila! :]

OK... I don't know if there's anything special about this mosque but I do know I had deja vu twice when I first came here more than a month ago. So let me share some pictures of this main mosque of Sungai Siput. Maybe there's something of use here? Come! :]

Dari segi senibina, mungkin ia biasa sahaja dan sama dengan kebanyakan masjid di Malaysia...

Architecture-wise, maybe it is common and similar to most mosque in Malaysia...

Apapun, saya dapat merasakan ada sedikit keistimewaan tentang masjid ini...

Whatever, I could feel there's a a bit of something special about this mosque...

Papantanda ini mengatakan ia telah dirasmikan oleh almarhum Sultan ke 33 Perak, Sultan Idris pada tahun 1970, kebetulan tahun kelahiran saya!

This plaque says, it was officiated by the late Perak's 33rd Sultan, Sultan Idris in the year 1970, coincidently my year of birth!

Saya sampai ke situ bersama seorang rakan sejurus sebelum masuk waktu Zuhur.

I reached the place with a friend just sometime before time for Zuhur (the afternoon prayer)

Sempat berbaring sebentar lalu melihat kubah masjid daripada dalam. Tertanya pula, kenapa bulatan yang membentuk dalaman kubah ini dibahagikan kepada 18 bahagian? Pertanyaan ini timbul apabila melihat bulatan tengah dibahagikan kepada 4 sudut tepat... Selalunya dalam keadaan begini, 4 sudut tepat itu masing-masing akan dipecahkan kepada beberapa bahagian yang sama - daripada 4 menjadi 8 seterusnya 16 kemudian 32. Pendekkata dalam satu corak kuasa 2... 4, 8, 16, 32 dan seterusnya. Atau setiap sudut tepat itu dipecah 3, 5 atau berapa sahaja... Yang penting, jumlah sudut itu nanti masih boleh membentuk sudut-sudut tepat. Jadi kenapa pula jadi 18? Pelik pula rasanya...

Had the time to lie down and look at the mosque's dome from inside. Came the question, why the circle making up the inside of the dome is divided into 18 parts? This question came after looking at the centre circle which is divided into 4 right-angles... Usually in this situation, the 4 right-angles would each be divided into a number of equal parts - from 4 becoming 8 and further on 16 followed by 32. In other words it's in powers of 2... 4, 8, 16, 32 and so. Or every right angle is divided into 3, 5 or whatever number... What's important, the resulting number of angles could still be grouped into right angles. So why 18? There's something strange about this...

Sampailah waktu untuk menunaikan solat berjemaah...
Came the time to do the prayers in congregation...

Kemudian baru keluar mengelilingi masjid untuk melihat apakah yang agaknya istimewa tentangnya...

Afterwards came the time to walk around the mosque to look for what could be special about it...

Hmm... Saya masih tidak dapat menemui apakah yang istimewa tentangnya sedangkan rasa istimewa itu masih wujud. Mungkin yang istimewa bukan masjid ini tetapi lokasinya yang terletak di atas bukit kecil paling hampir dengan bandar Sungai Siput? Tiba-tiba saya terfikir, mungkin lokasinya ada peranan tertentu dalam kerajaan lama Gangganegara? Yang pasti Sungai Siput turut disenaraikan sejarahwan sebagai salah satu tempat di mana kerajaan itu mungkin pernah berpusat... Sila baca Sungai Siput as base camp... Where a giant face looks out from on top a hill... . Sekian...

Hmm... I still couldn't find what is so special about it but yet I still feel the special factor does exist. Maybe what is special is not the mosque itself but it's location on top of a small hill nearest to the town of Sungai Siput? Suddenly a thought came to mind, maybe the location plays a certain role for the old kingdom of Gangganegara. What is sure, Sungai Siput is listed by historians as one of the places where the kingdom could have been centred. Please read Sungai Siput as base camp... Where a giant face looks out from on top a hill... . That's all...