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Event during Ramadhan An Islamic Art and Science Exhibition at Equatorial Hotel, PenangEvent during Ramadhan in Penang, besides its obvious association with Islamic culture such as the Qur'an recital or a large spread good food, the event can be done from many angles.
Last year (2008) Muzium and Gallery Tuanku Fauziah of Universiti Sains Malaysia ran a month long exhibition entitled Iqra' - The Garden of Wisdom. This year (2009), a two week exhibition of the same theme was displayed at the lower ground level of Equatorial Hotel at Bukit Jambul, where the restaurants were. It was to create interest among the clients of the hotel about Islamic Art, Islamic Civilization and also Astronomy. The space provided by the hotel was spacious enough that more artifacts could be brought in. The pool deck was also utilized as an astronomy corner where visitors could view the night sky through a telescope. A slide show ran its course showing beautiful pictures of our universe. Complete with a lecture by the always enthusiastic Astronomy Professor from USM.
Equatorial Hotel has always been one of my favorite places in Penang. It has beautiful landscape and unique scenery as it is built on top of Bukit Jambul. An international standard golf course here is the only one worth mentioning in Penang.
The Coffee Garden as always served an extensive menu of local favorites for "buka puasa" i.e breaking of fast for the Muslims. However, non-Muslims are also invited to come along and enjoy the food together with their friends and families. A live Malay group of musicians entertained the visitors with evergreen songs to add in to the festive mood. I could spend hours just browsing the description on these artifacts. I also enjoyed reading the books on Islamic civilization which were casually placed there for everyone to read. This is inline with the museum's approach that an interactive environment is crucial to create a more meaningful experience to the visitors.
A special corner for children was also set up. This is very typical of the museum to entertain their young visitors to participate in the activities. They got to color some geometric patterns and also learn some "magic" tricks. For the museum, children are always their most valued "customers". Besides the artifacts, some of the in-house publication cataloguing work of local artists were also on sale. For me, they were all very interesting. One can never have too much knowledge. In my opinion, it is good that a hotel does something out of ordinary to give more values to their clients. An event during Ramadhan such as this one is a beautiful example. Back to the page of Religious Festivals Back to the homepage of Penang Heritage City.com |
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