Discover the world's largest gold-plated palace of the king of Brunei

The small country in Southeast Asia owns the largest palace in the world, far beyond Buckingham Palace in England.

'The king's house'

The magnificent lavish Istana Palace looks from a distance.

Nick Boulous, a correspondent for the British Independent newspaper, was speechless when he first arrived in Brunei, a small country in Southeast Asia. What makes this reporter 'stand out' is the 'home of King Bolkiah' , located in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan.

Although only modestly called the "house" , this mansion is the largest palace in the world and compared to Buckingham Palace in England - where Nick is so familiar - is no different from a high mountain. and deep pools.

Golden dome shines.

The palace of the Brunei king Hassanal Bolkiah is called Istana Nurul Iman (meaning 'The Palace of Light of the Gods' ). This is the residence of King Bolkiah, and also the place for the parliament of Brunei to work.

The Istana Palace is located next to the Brunei River, just a few kilometers south of the capital, Bandar. This is the largest and most luxurious palace in the world today. The name Istana Nurul Iman is made from Malay and Arabic. The palace was designed by the famous Philippine architect Leandro Locsin. He built a beautiful building with golden dome based on the architectural aesthetic of the Malaysians.

Every corner of the palace is very picky.

The construction of this project was undertaken by Ayala International of the Philippines and completed in 1984. The construction cost was $ 1.4 billion at that time. Istana Nurul Iman royal palace was the residence of King Hassanal Bolkiah and his royal lineage. At the same time, the palace is also the residence and work of the Brunei Government and the Prime Minister's Office.

When reporter Nick went to Istana palace, what impressed him most was yellow and green. The yellow color created by the entire gold-plated architectural blocks, from the dome to the entrance. Nick said: 'I am dazzled when I enter this wonderful project. Feel like a true king. '

Construction costs amount to 1.4 billion USD.

The color of the Istana palace comes from rows of trees planted together and surrounds the palace. The gentle beauty of the Brunei River and the freshness of the trees make the Istana palace honored many times for its standard design.

Really overwhelmed

Beautiful palace in every position.

Istana Palace has 1,788 rooms, including 257 bedrooms, a meeting room with a capacity of 5,000 people. In addition, the palace has a mosque that can accommodate 1,500 followers at the same time. This palace is three times larger than the Buckingham royal palace in England.

The Jame Hassanal Bolkiah Church near the royal palace is the largest and most beautiful mosque in Southeast Asia. This church was built in 6 years at a cost of 200 million USD. All the architectural blocks in the palace are made of gold and weigh dozens of tons.

The interior of the palace is also really "ecstatic".

A reporter once said that the wall painting of the palace also took . 12 months. This means that workers never run out of jobs and every year after that year paint the king's wall.

Due to his passion for cars, King Bolkiah built a garage that accommodated 110 cars and a stable with air conditioning for 200 precious horses. King Bolkiah built 5 more swimming pools, a royal garden inside an area of ​​up to 200,000m2. With such a terrible scale, Istana Palace needs 564 chandeliers, 51,000 large and small bulbs, 44 stairs and 18 elevators.

Architecture of Brunei.

A special feature of the more than 1,700 rooms of the Istana palace is that they are all in gold, more or less. Particularly, King Bolkiah's office was more luxurious than the interior with exquisite gold. The throne of King Bolkiah was cast entirely in gold. The tables and chairs to welcome guests at the palace are also made of gold. Picture frames, photos, bowls, glasses of water are also cast in gold.

For the people of Brunei, the Istana palace is a symbol of the king's power and the wealth of this small nation. Brunei people are proud of the Istana palace, considering it a sacred and noble destination, where they send all faith in their king.

King Brunei and his wife and son.

The palace is the king's residence, so it is not open to the public. The only occasion people can enter during the year is the Hari Raya ceremony which takes place in 3 days. Normally, about 110,000 visitors will visit the palace in these 3 days. They will be given food by the king or a small amount of money for children.