Al Hussain Mosque, Kuala Perlis

Masjid Al Hussain is the reason a lot of visitors detour through Kuala Perlis on the way to the Langkawi ferry. Built on stilts over the water, it reads as though it is floating at high tide — the effect that earned it the local name Masjid Terapung, the floating mosque.

It took about four years to build at a cost of roughly RM12 million, funded by the businessman Tan Sri Mohd Ariffin Yusuf and named in memory of his late brother. The design concept came from the Raja Muda of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail.

The detailing rewards a slow look. The twin hexagonal minarets are six-sided in reference to the six tenets of iman, and the surfaces mix coral stone, quartz, marble, granite and pebble — a deliberately tactile, tropical take on Islamic architecture rather than a stone-and-plaster copy of one.

Photographers get the strongest reflection at high tide and the warmest light near sunset, when the mosque is lit against the strait. As at any working mosque, dress modestly and time your visit around prayers.

Sources: Malaysia Truly Asia — Masjid Al Hussain, Penang Travel Tips — Masjid Al-Hussain