Merdeka Special - Klang & Gombak rivers

THEN: The confluence of Klang and Gombak rivers

NOW: The confluence with development around it

Masjid Jamek still an oasis

THIS is where it all began for Kuala Lumpur, at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers. In the 1850s, early miners landed at this very spot.

Then, in 1907, Masjid Jamek was built here. Officially opened two years later by the Sultan of Selangor, it is the oldest mosque in Kuala Lumpur.

Designed by architect Arthur Benison Hubbock, an architectural assistant in the Public Works and Survey Department, the mosque cost just RM32,625 and the money came from the people as well as the government of the day.

Hubbock was also responsible for the design of the Kuala Lumpur Railway station and the KTMB headquarters building. All three buildings share similar Mogul design styles.

In the picture above, taken in 1959, Masjid Jamek looks postcard-perfect.

An idyllic scene from a time when life in Kuala Lumpur was less frantic.

Today, the mosque is still in use, hence its other name, the Friday Mosque, as the faithful pack into the compound and flow over into the nearby street every Friday at prayer time.

Of course, the skyline has also changed. Skyscrapers dominate the background but Masjid Jamek remains an oasis of calm in the bustling city.