This is Penang's first and still major mosque. Right at downtown George Town, it is a encompassing building. There is free guided tour for visitors and guides are warm and welcoming. The ten-minute tour is informative about the five daily prayers and how it is performed. How the mosque greets tourists is the perfect illustration of inclusiveness.

We stopped at this mosque and were offered a free guided tour by a lovely member of staff who worked/volunteered there. The tour lasted approx 15 minutes and was very insightful. They provide appropriate attire for tourists to wear during the visit. The mosque was beautiful and I learnt alot. I highly recommend visiting if you are in the area.

Visiting times are confusing. There was a sign posted with them but when I arrived I was told it was prayer time and I should come back later. After coming back later I found two groups getting the tour so I looked around for a bit. There is not much you can see of the inside that you can't see from the outside so unlike a Turkish mosque I would say it wasn't as interesting or inviting to a non Muslim.

A must. Beautiful and serene. They open between certain times. A few hours and then a gap. I went around 11:00. This is a good time as it is outside of prayer time. Friday, it is likely to be only open after Friday prayers. If you go on a Friday, then go in the afternoon. Very clean and well looked after. Staff are very helpful and friendly. Non-Muslims are welcome too. They will give you a throw to cover yourself if you are not appropriately dressed. They will also give you information about the mosque. Take your footwear off before going in. I was allowed in the main prayer hall part as I am Muslim. Best first to view from afar across the street and then go inside. This is the first and oldest mosque in Penang.

The building itself is truly beautiful and, on a hot day, very cool inside. Unfortunately, there were strict limits on where non Muslims could go so much of the mosque went unseen. Whilst staff were friendly, they weren’t keen on us not joining a tour. Compared to the central mosque in Kuala Lumpur, overall this was a disappointment.