Welcome to Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital and largest city of Brunei, and nominally the country's only city. Its story begins with a Malay stilt settlement on the waters of the Brunei River, the forerunner of today's Kampong Ayer. From the 16th century it was the capital of the Bruneian Sultanate. Once known as Brunei Town, it was renamed in 1970 in honour of Omar Ali Saifuddien the Third, the 28th Sultan. Brunei's independence was declared on a square in the city centre on 1 January 1984. Let's discover golden domes and a village on the water.
Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque
Photo: Abdullah Geelah · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsRising from a man-made lagoon, its golden dome dominating the skyline, is the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, one of Brunei's two state mosques. It was completed in 1958, built by Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien the Third, after whom it is named. Its design draws heavily on Mughal architecture, and beside it floats a ceremonial stone barge. Step inside and you will find rugs from Saudi Arabia and walls of Italian marble. It is one of the most photographed sights in the country, yet above all it is a place of worship.
Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque
Photo: Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsBefore you stands the Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, the largest mosque in Brunei and one of its two state mosques. It spans a site of 8.1 hectares and is named in honour of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan. The mosque was built to mark the Silver Jubilee of his reign, and the Englishman John Lawson was invited to design its glass dome. Construction began in 1988, and it was formally opened on 14 July 1994, the Sultan's 48th birthday.
Kampong Ayer
Photo: the Tourism Development Department of Brunei · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsSpread across the Brunei River is Kampong Ayer, whose name simply means water village. Here whole neighbourhoods of houses, schools and mosques stand on stilts above the water, close to the city centre. It covers about 10 square kilometres and has long been nicknamed the Venice of the East. This is where the city's story began, as a Malay stilt settlement, before the capital gradually moved onto land. Many village names here recall the dignitaries who once lived in them.
Istana Nurul Iman
Photo: Pangalau · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsOn leafy hills beside the Brunei River, a few kilometres south-west of the city, stands Istana Nurul Iman, the Palace of the Light of Faith. It is the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei and the seat of government, and Guinness World Records lists it as the largest residential palace in the world. The Filipino architect Leandro Locsin designed it with golden domes and vaulted roofs that echo Islamic and Malay influences. Some 10,000 people from 17 countries worked on it, and it was completed in 1984.
Royal Regalia Museum
Photo: Hajotthu · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsIn the heart of the city stands the Royal Regalia Museum, which houses historical treasures and royal regalia of Brunei, a window into the country's royal customs. Here is a surprising piece of its past: the building first opened as the Churchill Memorial Building, at the time the only museum in the world dedicated to Winston Churchill, even though he had never visited Brunei. It was commissioned by Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien the Third, a great admirer of the British prime minister.
Lomakuume
