See the largest collection of Islamic art in Southeast Asia
Five turquoise domes, Iranian tilework
The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia opened in 1998 in the Perdana Botanical Garden, across some 30,000 square metres.
Why it's unique
It is the largest museum of Islamic arts in Southeast Asia, holding more than seven thousand objects spanning 1,400 years and drawing from the Middle East, Central Asia, South and Southeast Asia and China. The Southeast Asian and Chinese material is what distinguishes it from the great European collections, which are strong on the Ottoman and Persian worlds and thin on this one.
The building is part of it. Five turquoise tiled domes and an iwan-style entrance, the tilework executed by Iranian artisans brought over for the commission. The scale-model gallery of the world's major mosques is the room most people remember.
Before you go
Allow three hours; two is not enough and most people underestimate it. The restaurant is unusually good for a museum and is a reason to time a visit around lunch.
It sits in the Perdana Botanical Garden alongside the Bird Park and the Planetarium, so it combines into a full day without any transport between stops.