Walking through the portals of time in Sarawak

THE driver manoeuvred through the winding driveway and finally came to a halt under a huge tree. I stepped out and was immediately welcomed by the crisp, cool morning air.

Impatient to start my exploration, I hastily jotted down the driver’s phone number, promising to call him for my ride back to the hotel.

He nodded, waved farewell and soon disappeared around the corner, leaving me to unearth Sarawak’s interesting past at my leisure.

Sarawak Islamic Museum

My first stop was the Sarawak Islamic Museum. Admission was free and I quickly went in through a huge ornate doorway, hoping to enrich my mind with the historical heritage and special culture of the Muslim community in Sarawak.

The seven galleries, housing exhibits ranging from Islamic history to a Holy Quran collection, were spacious and didn’t feel like a typical museum at all. Perhaps the fact that the building was constructed to serve as the James Brooke Malay College, had something to do with it. Some 80 years ago, it was converted into the Madrasah Melayu Sarawak before it became the Sarawak Islamic Museum in 1992.

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