Monday, October 21, 2013

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque

Feb 2013. This mosque mean so much to us. I still remember the first time we walked in this mosque with happiness and accompanied by a big crowd of our friends and family. Yes, it was our wedding day on the 25th September 2005 at this mosque. We were the first couple in this mosque history that as a foreigner married in this most prestigious mosque. What could we say more. Its indeed a blessing. Therefore, we wont want to miss a chance to visit this mosque even late at night. We have a great shots of night view. This mosque is incredible during the Day. So photogenic and lovely.

Wikipedia - The mosque unites Mughal architecture and Italian styles. The plans were done by Booty and Edwards Chartered Architects according to designs by the Italian architect Cavaliere Rudolfo Nolli, who had already for decades been working at the gulf of Siam.

The mosque is built in an artificial lagoon on the banks of the Brunei River at Kampong Ayer, the "village in the water". It has marble minarets and golden domes with courtyards and lush gardens full of fountains. The mosque is surrounded by a large number of trees and floral gardens which in Islam
symbolizes heaven. A bridge reaches across the lagoon to Kampong Ayer in the middle of the river.

Another marble bridge leads to a structure in the lagoon meant as a replica of a 16th Century Sultan Bolkiah mahligai barge. It was built to commemorate the 1,400th anniversary of Nuzul Al-Quran (coming down of the Quran), completed in 1967 and used to stage Quran reading competitions.

The mosque's most recognizable feature, the main dome, is covered in pure gold. The mosque stands 52 m (171 ft) high and can be seen from virtually anywhere in Bandar Seri Begawan. The main minaret is the mosque's tallest feature. In a unique way it mixes Renaissance and Italian architectural style. The minaret has an elevator to the top, where one can enjoy a panoramic view of the city.

The interior of the mosque is for prayer only. It has magnificent stained glass windows, arches, semi-domes and marble columns. Nearly all the material used for the building has been imported from abroad: the marble from Italy, the granite from Shanghai, the crystal chandeliers from England and the carpets from Saudi Arabia.