Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque

The mosque rises from an artificial lagoon that reflects its golden domes and white marble walls in the still tropical air, creating an image that appears on every Brunei banknote, government publication and tourism brochure, and which has come to symbolise the nation itself more completely than any other single structure.

Construction was completed in 1958 under the 28th Sultan, Omar Ali Saifuddien Saiful Rijal, whose tomb lies adjacent in a marble-clad mausoleum modelled on the 15th-century Sultan Bolkiah's tomb in Kota Batu, approximately three kilometres downstream on the Brunei River.

The main prayer hall is entered through a series of vast Mughal-style arched doorways, each doorway framed in gilded bronze; inside, the floor is laid in Italian Carrara marble tiles, the walls are panelled in Burmese teak and a enormous fibreglass dome covers the central space, its interior decorated with verses from the Quran in Kufic script.

The 44-metre minaret is the tallest structure in the capital and is faced entirely in white Italian marble imported from Carrara, its silhouette visible from across Brunei Bay; a broad ornamental walkway connects it to the lagoon via a series of landscaped courtyards and bridges planted with palms and hibiscus.

The lagoon itself is an artificial creation filled by a pumping system that draws water from the Brunei River; at low tide the exposed muddy margins are colonised by herons and egrets, and at high tide the water laps against the base of the minaret's platform, creating a moat-like effect that is most striking at dawn when the first light catches the gilded finial.

The mosque is floodlit after dark and the resulting view — particularly from the waterfront promenade — is considered one of the most memorable nightscapes in Southeast Asia, with the golden domes mirrored in the still lagoon water and the minaret rising above the tree line.

As the national mosque of a Sharia-based sultanate, modest dress is expected of all visitors regardless of faith; sarongs and outer coats are provided at the entrance for those who arrive inappropriately dressed, and the staff are accustomed to international visitors of all backgrounds.

The mosque complex includes the Royal Mausoleum (Madžlis al-Ansar), completed in 1992 to house the tomb of the 28th Sultan, and a covered walkway linking the two structures; the mausoleum's interior is entirely clad in Italian marble and mosaic tile and is considered one of the finest examples of modern Islamic funerary architecture in Southeast Asia.

It is the most recognisable landmark of Brunei and one of the most striking mosques in Southeast Asia, set within an extraordinary artificial lagoon that is unique on the continent.

The interior combines Italian marble, stained glass, Burmese teak and a gilded fibreglass dome in a way that reflects the oil-fuelled cosmopolitan ambitions of late-1950s Brunei.

The adjacent royal mausoleum and landscaped park make it a complete cultural precinct within the capital, combining religious, dynastic and landscape architecture in one visit.