The architectural ensemble of Independence Square, also known as Merdeka Square, includes the buildings of Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the Royal Selangor Club, the main post office, and the former palace of Sultan Abdul Samad, which now houses the country's government offices. An exquisite adornment of the latter palace is a 40-meter clock tower, crowned with a beautiful gilded dome.
The architecture of the tower, however, like that of the entire palace, combines two styles at once - Victorian and Moorish. They are so harmoniously intertwined in the arches, minarets, and unusual onion domes that they captivate travelers at first sight.
Many tourists and residents of Kuala Lumpur often call this magnificent tower the Malaysian «Big Ben». If you came to Merdeka Square during the day, be sure to come back here again in the evening. After dark, the entire palace is illuminated by hundreds of multicolored lanterns, and many travelers get the feeling as if they have stepped into an Eastern fairy tale.
