BERPETUALANG KE ACEH: New trip to the East Coast - Tomb and mosque of Tok Ku Paloh revisited

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This blogspot is a medium to share my thoughts and adventures apart from promoting my books. Below are the books which have been written or authored and published by myself.

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Mencari Diri dan Erti".

ISBN 983-42031-0-1, Jun 2006

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Membela Syiar yang Asal"

ISBN 983-42031-1-x, May 2007

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Sirih Pulang ke Gagang?"

ISBN 978-983-42031-2-2, November 2007

It is interesting to note that while these books were written in Malay it has gained enough attention to merit being part of the collections of the American Library of Congress and National Library of Australia. Look here and here.

While the first three books were published by my own company, the fourth titled "Rumah Azan" was published in April 2009 by a company called Karnadya with the help of the Malaysian national literary body Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. It features beautiful pictures along with stories behind selected mosques which could be related to the history of Islam and the Malays alongside the formation of the Malaysian nation. Look at the article A collaboration of old collegemates - the book "Rumah Azan".

My fifth book "Ahlul Bait (Family) of Rasulullah SAW and Malay Sultanates", an English translation and adaptation of the Malay book "Ahlul Bait (Keluarga) Rasulullah SAW dan Kesultanan Melayu" authored by Hj Muzaffar Mohamad and Tun Suzana Othman was published early 2010. Look here... My 5th book is out! Ahlul Bait (Family) of Rasulullah SAW and the Malay Sultanates... . For more information check out my Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU.

Like my fourth book "Rumah Azan", the sixth book "Kereta Api Menuju Destinasi" is also a coffee-table book which is published by the company Karnadya with the cooperation of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (the main Malay literary body in Malaysia). Coming out January 2011 it features pictures and stories on the adventure travelling by train to all of Peninsular Malaysia along with the interesting places which could be reached this way.

My seventh book "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah" in turn is a coffee-table book which is written, editted, designed and has pictures taken by me. Coming out of the factory October 2011, this book which combines family history with history of places such as Singapura, Johor, Batu Pahat, Muar and in fact the history of the island of Java and England has been reviewed with me interviewed live in the program Selamat Pagi Malaysia at RTM1. Look at the article Siaran langsung ulasan buku "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah" dan temu ramah di Selamat Pagi Malaysia. Some selected contents have been featured in Sneak peek "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah".

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The "Berpetualang ke Aceh" series of novels could be obtained in e-book form. Enter http://www.e-sentral.com/, click general novel and go to page 4. You can also type the word "Aceh" at the search box. Or click straight Book 1, Book 2 and Book 3.

Friday, November 21, 2008

New trip to the East Coast - Tomb and mosque of Tok Ku Paloh revisited

Peace be upon you all. Following my latest visit to the East Coast where I revisited some places, I'd like to present a series of articles starting with this...

OK. This is the mosque of Tok Ku Paloh, a very prominent 19th Century religious man said to be of saintly status, situated some 3 km outside the city of Kuala Terengganu. The full official name of the mosque is Masjid (mosque of) Almarhum (the deceased) Engku Saiyid Abdul Rahman Tok Ku Paloh.

His real name is Saiyid Abdul Rahman, Saiyid being an inherited title signifying him as from the lineage of prophet Muhammad SAW. The title Engku is a calling attributed to some members of the royal family... and in some countries like Terengganu, a descendant of the prophet is considered a royalty.

Tok is short form for Datuk or Datok (in normal usage a calling for a grandfather, also for a respected elder) and Ku being a short form for Engku. As he was based mainly in Kampung (village) of Paloh where this mosque is situated at, thus Saiyid Abdul Rahman is known as Tok Ku Paloh.

I've been to this mosque quite a few times and have slept here nearly as many times. Everytime, I would make a point to at least take a wash if not a bath using the water from this well.

A unique feature of this well is the lever system for taking out water using a metal pail. In the picture is my friend Shamsul Yunos having a closer look and taking some pictures.

Oh! This latest trip to the East Coast was actually made to visit and take pictures of some chosen mosques. It is for a coffee-table book project we're working on for a certain publication.