| Putrajaya 19-2-2015 |
| Last year my friend Joe Yap and I used the first day of the Chinese New Year to visit KL and take pictures of as many Houses of Worship as we could find. This year we decided to go to Putrajaya and take pictures of the many government buildings there. Driving and parking in Putrajaya can be a problem, but on this first day of CNY there was hardly any traffic. I have been in Putrajaya only once or twice, but Joe knows the place quite well and had prepared a tour of Putrajaya for me!
For those not familiar with Malaysia, Putrajaya, located 25 km south of Kuala Lumpur, is a planned city, that serves as the federal administrative centre of Malaysia. It is the brainchild of the former PM Mahathir. Construction started in 1995
Because we also wanted to take night view pictures, we started late, after lunch. When you enlarge the last picture of this report, you get a map of Putrajaya, with numbered markers. Those numbers identify the buildings we visited during our trip and you find the same numbers in the pictures below. Clicking on a picture (to enlarge it) will sometimes give more information.
We started in the northern part of Putrajaya, where the residence and the office of the Prime Minister are located. The principal mosque of Putrajaya, the Putra Mosque is also here, and actually quite impressive. Don't expect Chinese temples, Hindu kovils or Christian churches in Putrajaya, the Civil Service is (unfortunately...) almost exclusively Malay.
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 1 Seri Perdana
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 2 The Prime Minister's Office
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 2 View from the Boulevard
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 3 Putra Mosque
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The main precinct of Putrajaya is built on an island, connected to the mainland by a number of often impressive bridges. The most spectacular one is the Seri Wawasan bridge, opened in 2003.
 4 Seri Wawasan Bridge
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 4
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 Joe Yap in action
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 5 Menara PjH
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Almost all ministries are located on the island, along the Persiaran Perdana (Putrajaya Boulevard). Some of them have an attractive architecture, others are plain and nothing special.
Quite impressive is the Ministry of Finance, completed in 2002. A bit megalomaniac, but still a good example of Islamic/Malaysian architecture.
 6 Istana Darul Ehsan
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 7 Ministry of Finance
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 7 Beautiful
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 The Boulevard
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 8 Bahagian Pinjaman Perumahan
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 9 Menara Usahawan
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 10 Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya Malaysia
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 11 Wisma Putra
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The "Diamond Building" of the Energy Commission, built in 2009, has won rewards and rightly so. Boulevard Square is a modern building, as is the metal structure of the Perbadanan Putrajaya with a view through the monumental gate of the "Iron Mosque", the second principal mosque of Putrajaya.
 12 Energy Commission of Malaysia
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 13 Boulevard Square
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 14 Perbadanan Putrajaya Complex
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 14
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 15 Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque
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In stark contrast, on the other side of the Boulevard, the grand Palace of Justice. Mixture of Islamic and Palladian(?) architecture. When you are familiar with Malaysian politics, you might be inclined to rename it Palace of Injustice...:-(
The buildings along the southern part of the Boulevard are more recent. A different architectural style. I liked the Wisma Prisma very much.
 16 Palace of Justice
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 Time for a break
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 17 Wisma Prisma
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Next on the Boulevard you will encounter four oval skyscrapers, housing three ministries. From the air it looks a bit like a clover leaf. Spectacular architecture!
 Modern part of the Boulevard
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 18 Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
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 19 Ministry of Youth and Sports
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 20 Wisma Tani
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 View from Google Earth
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 21 Unfinished Bridge
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 22 Seri Saujana bridge
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 23 Bahagian Hal Ehwal Undang Undang
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 23 Detail
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 15 Iron Mosque
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 22 Milennium monument
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Just before the Seri Gemilang bridge at the southern end of the island, four more ministries are housed in modern buildings
 4 Seri Wawasan bridge
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 24 Attorney General's Chambers
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 25 Ministry of Rural and Urban Development
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 26 Ministry of Communication and Multimedia
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 26 Detail
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 27 Ministry of Housing and Local Government
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 27 Detail
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 28 Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development
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 The four ministries
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 View from Google Earth
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 29 Seri Gemilang bridge
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We spent quite some time here, enjoying the view and waiting for the sunset.
 30 Putrajaya International Convention Centre
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 29 Seri Gemilang bridge
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 Late afternoon
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 The sun is setting
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 29 Seri Gemilang bridge
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 Night view
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 Seri Wawasan bridge by night
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 Spectacular colors
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Several buildings and especially the bridges are floodlit in varying colours. Beautiful!
 2 Prime Minister's Office
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 15 Iron Mosque by night
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 Putrajaya overview. Click to enlarge
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davidmay wrote on Apr 8, 2015:
Nice photos. Actually Jan, there is a Hindu temple in Putrajaya, or rather will be soon. It is under construction in Precinct 20, opposite Putrajaya Challenge Park and, judging by the artist's impression, it is going to be very grand and attractive and will be a new tourist attraction for the city. Its construction however has been controversial according to various press reports. |
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