Cari Kayu di Terengganu

Last Deepavali holidays (in October, if you have lost track of time and dates), I made this trip to cari kayu di Terengganu (I like how they rhyme, the words I mean). But it's not a common kind of kayu that I was searching for, actually. I was hunting for a specific kind of kayu - ukiran kayu, to be exact.

You might be wondering, why Terengganu? Especially when I can get many Indonesian work of arts here in the west coast. I guess I was being patriotic, or perhaps sentimental. I read years ago in an inflight magazine that some westerners came all the way to Terengganu to have their boats done by local boat makers. It struck something in me. This is national heritage that remains untapped or perhaps, overlooked by local people. So when I was scouting for some furniture for my house and perabut ukiran kayu came to mind, perabut ukiran kayu Terengganu won over perabut ukiran kayu Jati Indonesia.

And so I went. We (BBCC and I, of course) drove. Prior to that, I did some research on the Net and found two addresses where I might find what I wanted. One in Kuala Terengganu, the other in Besut. We headed to Kuala Terengganu, planning to stop in Besut on our way back, especially if I could not find what I want at the state's capital.

Although initially my search was for only for perabut ukiran kayu Terengganu, what I found was much more than that. While passing through Jerteh, we came across this impressive wooden mosque. I couldn't really sustained my eagerness and forced BBCC to make a U-Turn. I definitely must be there!

The impressive Masjid Kayu in Jerteh

I was totally consumed by the ukiran kayu I saw in this mosque. Every inch of it. Every corner. Had we not been heading for Kuala Terengganu, I would have stayed there for hours.

I managed to take a few snapshots of certain angles of the mosque. I would have taken more, if not for my fear that BBCC might be crossed with me. Well, who would not be, right? We had miles to go and yet I was "fooling around" here with my camera. What's worse, she was the one who was driving!

My first snapshots are the door and the window of the female prayer hall. I wish I could have something like these at home:



The door frame of the female prayer hall.
Don't you just admire the carvings?

A closer view on the carvings above
the door frame

These are the snapshots of the outsides of the mosque. If only I had more time to go around the mosque...



BBCC also couldn't help feeling impressed
that she asked me to snap this photo



As I was about to leave, my eyes caught some other interesting details of an adjacent wooden building and I quickly took these pictures:

All in all, I can only sum up everything in one word - WOW!. Never ever will I underestimate the talents of our local craftsmen (though I never have), and of course, the beauty and richness of our culture and heritage.

You don't too, okay. Take care.