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Sultan Abu Bakar Royal Palace Museum
Town Centre Jalan Ibrahim, Johor Bahru, Malaysia Phone: 07 223 0555 Average Price: US$ 2 per personAbout
Sultan Abu Bakar Royal Palace Museum is currently closed for renovation until February 2012. The information given herewith will be updated after it reopens. Located along Jalan Tun Doktor Ismail, 1.3km west of the Causeway. The official entrance to the palace museum grounds is through a gateway facing the High Court building on Jalan Air Molek. After passing through this gateway, you have to drive or walk along a paved asphalt road for about 400m before reaching the main (central) building (the one with a grand staircase) of the palace museum complex. You can also exit/enter the palace museum grounds by walking down/up the grassy slope to/from the main road - Jalan Tun Doktor Ismail. Definitely Johor Bahru's top attraction, this is the opulent former residence (Istana Besar or Grand Palace) of the Sultan of Johor. It is still used for royal and state ceremonies and functions. It is surrounded by a 53-hectare, beautifully tended garden (free admission). The adjoining Zaharah Botanical Garden (Kebun Bunga Zaharah in Malay) lies about 300m northwest of the palace museum complex centered about a roundabout. The palace complex was first completed in 1866 but has been extended and refurbished many times since. It was built in the neoclassical style by local artisans under the supervision of a European architect. The original furniture of the palace was made in England and ordered by Sultan Abu Bakar in 1866. Sultan Iskandar officially declared the museum open to the public on May 11, 1990. The museum is housed in two of the three white buildings (all with blue-tile pitched roofs) in the complex and consists of 4 parts: the Dewan (in the west building); the Throne Room, the Treasure Rooms and the Hunting Room (in the central building). The east building is not open to the public. The scale of the palace is suitably grandiose. In the Dewan, are displayed an array of items presented to Sultan Abu Bakar and his successors by dignitaries, such as swords, medals, glassware, etc. You can also find in this building detailed biographies of Sultan Abu Bakar and his successors, Sultan Abu Bakar's stone bust, the sultans' personal memorabilia, photographs of the sultans and their families, etc. In the Hunting Room, you can find exhibits like stuffed animals (tigers, crocodiles, rhinoceros, elephants), elephant ivory tusks, elephant's foot umbrella stands, antelope leg ashtrays, etc. In the central building on the second level (you have to remove your shoes), you can find the reception rooms, the royal bedrooms (note the four-poster teak beds), the royal dining room, the chamber of the Royal Council, the throne room (it has a pair of gilt thrones), the library, etc. The banqueting hall on the first level can be seen only from the second level. The furnishings inside these Rococo-style rooms include exquisite wooden furniture from various countries, crystal glass chairs and tables from France, Japanese ceramics, oil paintings of the royals, chandeliers, etc. On the first level of the central building, you can find exhibits such as gold/silverware, crystal ware, gold and silver jewelery, royal regalia, Malay hand weapons, a numismatic collection, etc.closed when there are official functions and ceremonies.
