Brunei Tour: Kiarong Mosque

Don't be confused, what many Bruneians refer to as Kiarong Mosque or Masjid Kiarong is actually the Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque - the biggest and most important mosque in their whole country.

And why are we talking about it? Alams na.., Pinoy Made! Pero mamya na yan, yung tour ko muna!

Just about 15min leisurely drive from Istana Nurul Iman, I could already see it from the road. Exciting!

Why was I excited? Eh, this was that thing I saw on arrival day, and I said this was on my bucket list. In my bucket list? Yes, because, while I see it everytime I pass from/to the airport, I haven't been to it yet!

Here's an interesting part of BSB (short for BS Begawan, short for Bandar Seri Begawan).., a rotunda!

Clean and beautifully simple as it looks, it is not that 'ordinary' (kaya ko nga pinektyuran eh)! Under the roundabout with flowers and greens is actually the wide highway, Lebuhraya Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

It's not a tunnel. It's like an underpass (parang EDSA-SHAW Crossing natin). But as you see, the upper portion is a lovely circular park, where three roads converge. Underneath that passes the big highway.

The interesting part is not just the fact that the wide highway passes underneath that rotunda, but the perplexing puzzle.., na sino kaya mangangahas pumunta sa park-like garden na yan eh ang lalapad ng kalsada at ang daming sasakyan nagliliparan hahaha! I did not even see pedestrian walks going there.

Anyway, where's the mosque in relation to that roundabout? It's to the right, but vehicles have to circle around the rotunda clockwise, because, if you may haven't noticed yet, Brunei is a "drive left" country.

Here's one more shot, as we got off the rotunda, to approach the main entrance of the mosque.

The noted gold-dome-topped minarets and the big main golden dome were getting clearer. So, I really was getting near. Hmm, this angle looked the same as yesterday, just a little closer. Maybe we passed via a parallel road or an outer lane yesterday (airport to hotel). Well, Kiarong is at center of everything!

Kiarong is city center? Well 'kinda yes. As is usual in many Muslim cities and towns, all the roads lead to where the main or biggest mosque is. Same at towns with other dominant religions, right? All roads lead to the biggest or main church/temple/shrine/synagogue/whatever di ba? I think iba lang sa atin.

Sa atin lang kasi ang - kung saan ang SM o Robinsons (lalo na pag magkalapit sila), all roads lead to them, 'di ba la? Aba oi, kinakailangan pa magka-exit sa mga expressway - kung andun sila! Laban ka?

Anyway...

So we arrived at the main entrance na hindi main entrance of Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque!

Hahaha, did I confuse you? Eh ako rin nalipung a bit! Ewan ko ba, this mosque is surrounded by many main entrances. They're on all sides! Anywhere you approach it, you see nothing but a grand entrance!

But let me tell you why my driver/guide brought me to that spot first. It was because we were in a mad rush to take advantage of the sun's remaining rays, and that eastern side of the mosque is purportedly the best angle for taking photos with the most number of domes in a shot - including the 4 minarets.

See? I got 11 of 29 golden domes! Only? But he says, mine was one of the best he has seen. Oh ha?

He qualified that... he said that photo (above) is the best picture of the mosque with the most number of golden domes in one shot, taken from the ground without any gadget - no zoom, no stick, no tripod, no nothing - just my oldish phone on my bare hands! Okay fine, happy na ako! Magaling sya mambola!

Ah, about that white car seemingly getting in the way of my "fantastic shots" hehe, there's even a story behind its presence in my photos above and below. At first, I was irritated why it had to be there, when there are thousands of parking slots all around this mosque. Well, at times, people are allowed to park like that, so explained my driver/guide - because the place is so vast, it becomes hard walking around!

Anyway, for my photographer and photography-adik friends to have a laugh, here's another shot I got:

It's the same 'subject' as above. I just stepped a few paces backward such that the roof/awning of the structure behind me is seen. I wanted to use its artful-shaped edges to 'frame' the mosque in my shot.

Hindi maganda.., pangit. Atras pa uli! (At least wala na yung mamang naglalakad)! Here's my 2nd try:

Yun! Okay sana. But the 2 minarets up front are truncated. I should have crouched a little more. Argh! Ang hirap maging 'kodaker' ha? Hindi kaya ng powers ko, I couldn't do it, unless dumapa ako sa sahig.

On hindsight, I should have done that - malinis naman yung sahig ng hallway/whatever!

Aha, so what is this hallway/whatever anyway? Ooops I forgot to ask my driver/guide what they call it. It's a covered walkway, where all must remove and keep their footwear on racks provided by the sides.

Even that, a mere walkway, was artfully designed, right? It adds to the creative entirety of the mosque.

That other end by the way is the entrance to this compound if you weren't riding any vehicle coming to this place. As you can see, parking slots are on either side of the walkway. After parking, you just walk to the nearest part of this walkway, without having to start at the very end, over there, near the street!

In fact, if you were on a car, like we were, you may even miss that hallway since your attention is to the building, not the outside. In my case, I just kept stepping backward for a better photographic vantage!

That's how I stumbled upon that nice-looking "shoe-house" whatever it's called. But very fortunate that I accidentally did so, otherwise I could have missed an important part of their mosque-visit protocols.

Yeah, it is important to know, but my tour guide actually told me that he took that for granted, thinking I already knew such things. I do, but I never thought there'd be such a nicely-built hallway just for that!

And, unusual too, that such a 'footwear area' is not part of the actual mosque building. It is across the mosque's internal road. See the pic above with the car? Yan ang tatahakin mo ng naka-paa! Malayo a!

It's not only far, mainit din sa paa ang semento, di ba? But hep hep hep! Hold your horses or carabaos!

You don't have to remove your footwear if you are just visiting the outside areas of the mosque - many times, you won't anyway be allowed inside when it's prayer time. Plus kung hindi ka na rin lang Muslim na magdadasal, why go inside eh bawal camera dun? Don't be wary of your alipunga getting exposed!

Hehehe seriously, I still suggest you go inside at least once! It's a beautiful vast place in there.

Here's more: even locals or frequent visitors to this mosque do not normally remove their footwear at that hallway, before walking up to the main building and entering to pray. It's customary for them to do that at the stairway or even by the door to the actual prayer hall, during regular day 'non-holiday' visits.

Why is that? Well, because during Islamic Holidays where many come to pray all at the same time, the stairs cannot possibly accommodate 5,000 pairs of footwear. Then, those shoe-walkways are needed!

One thing more about shoes and Islam, my guide told me that the removal of footwear before one can enter a mosque, is not actually part of the Quranic Scriptures or anything like that. It is just a matter of respect or concern for the prayer hall to be always clean -as prayers involve a lot of floor-level bowing.

Oo nga naman, and if I am not mistaken, I think a friend once told me, that is called the "sujud". So, if I may put a word on that, it is more on "practicality" (cleanliness) and not necessarily about religiosity.

Napansin ko nga, all over Asia, whatever the religion, we remove our footwears when we enter homes, right? A sign of respect for those who own the house. Eh di ganun din dapat sa "House of God". Tama!

Lalong tama at dapat lang, kung ganyan ka-ganda at ka-mahal ang carpet ng mosque, 'no?! Therefore, my dear Pinoy Travelers, at least once, make an effort to enter a mosque. They're all clean and serene.

Oh, lest I forget, there are 2 such "shoe-rack hallways" in Kiarong Mosque, both about 80 meters long!

Anyway, I noticed that even the pavement around this mosque is nicely laid with tiles like these...

It makes anyone immediately notice that this is not a just-just (so-so) edifice. Those are tiny little tiles and difficult to install. My guide proudly said 'skilled workers from Philippines came to do that'. O ha?!

And I started walking to the northern side of this mosque as it is such a lovely garden everywhere. But driver/guide insisted I ride with him in his car saying 'other side is very far'. I did, but you don't have to!

You will be amazed at the very intricate details all around this mosque, so it's better to walk (I think).

Those metal grill details and colored tiles were specifically designed and crafted for this mosque, said my guide. Those are not just basta-basta as if pumunta lang si contractor sa hardware and said gusto ko yan yan yan at yan na tiles hehehe! All details lend significant cultural-religious meanings to Brunei.

Oh, when visiting this mosque, give a lot of time for strolling around the gardens and water fountains.

There are so many of them in the surrounding courtyards, and all beautifully made. Water sound from these fountains provide a serene atmosphere, making visitors feel true peace and calm in their hearts!

Hey, there are 29 water fountains and there are 29 golden domes in the mosque. Does it ring a bell to anyone? Nothing much per my driver/guide. He says it may have been just a design coincidence. Ow?

While I did not contest that, I beg to disagree. There must have been a meaning to that number 29 for the architect to have designed it as the total number of water fountains and domes. It's such a weird number for a 'scientifically trained' architect to come up with, because it is odd. They go for symmetry.

From the little history that I could think of (at least for now), I'm guessing that 29 has something to do with Islamic Numerology (Ilm al-ḥisāb). Yes, not just Christians, Buddhists, other religions or Madam Auring have numerology! That was/is a common socio-cultural belief (practice) of many civilizations.

For example, there is the significance of 28.88 (roughly 29) percent of earth in our planet, because the other 71.11% is water. Those numbers were (can be) derived from their Quran by Islamic Numerology.

Or, and I am more prone to believe in this: 29 means Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei.

Basta me ibig sabihin yan! Anyway.., I reached the façade of the main MAIN Entrance of the mosque.

It isn't exaggeration enough, if you hear someone tell you, that standing in front of this grand entrance, is overwhelmingly awesome. For indeed it is, especially if you are a fan of wonderfully built structures!

Your fascination won't be so much on the technical considerations of erecting the structure, but more on the form, the intricate finishes, and of course, the quality of materials used. Everything's expensive!

Driver/guide say this mosque is admired worldwide, not only for its stunning Islamic architecture and design but also for the quality of all materials used like Italian Marble, Philippine Hardwood and so on.

Philippine what? Hardwood, as in matigas na kahoy kasintigas ng ulo mo! He says every wood slab or panel we see in the mosque are from Philippines -not just Narra, Kamagong too was needed for color.

Look at the three big main doors to the prayer hall (upstairs). Those are just samples of the wood that came from our lands! Syempre pa, Pinoy makers know what kind of wood is proven and tested to last.

Ah eto cute.., you probably can't see it in the photo, but believe me when I tell you that there was a pair of sandals at the foot of that grand staircase at left. That's what I earlier meant when I said that locals 'don't normally remove their footwear at the covered walkway'. They do it at those stairs, which is fine.

They do not have protocols here as to which staircase you may use in going up or down. The only rule is: tumingin ka sa dinadaanan mo so you do not bump into other people. Oo nga naman, that's better!

You already know who that escalator in the middle is for, right? Guide told me that somewhere inside, this mosque also has lifts for PWDs. Yeah, because the prayer hall is on that floor sa taas (2nd floor).

So, we went up and inside the prayer hall. Of course, no pictures allowed. You switch your cameras or phones off at that very stairs. But they don't have any police or warden or watcher or tanod to ensure that your gadgets are already off! We have to do that voluntarily as a sign of respect to the prayerful.

Hey, there's another thing I learned from my guide that I must share with you. The "no-picture-taking" thing is not actually a religious or Islam thing. Kasi, malay nga ba naman nila in the 7th century kung magkakaroon ng Kodak, Fuji, Apple o Samsung, at paano gamitin ang mga yundi ba? It just became a necessity in our modern societies - to respect by avoiding disturbing and distracting people at prayer.

Anyway, if you have a chance (that's only outside of the prayer hours), go inside the prayer hall to see and appreciate at how vast a space it is. Remember, it can fit 5,000 people all at once while in prayer. And while there's not so much to see, you can marvel at the walls, ceiling, chandelier, carpet etc. Wow!

Okay, back outside, look at that picture above again. Note that in the ground floor areas behind those stairs are found the rooms where people perform their wudu (ablution), separate for men and women. You will need this information to understand a "tsismis" that I will tell you just about later (below). Da!

Finally, out of the prayer hall, after descending the stairs, this was my view, therefore I took pictures!

Actually, that is the very opposite of the previous picture above. Yep, if you stand by the entrance foyer your view is that grand staircase. Turn around on the same spot, then that fountain becomes the view.

Hey, behind that fountain is a long island-like strip of a row of more fountains, all the way out there, to the main entrance. Main entrance nanaman? Now, let me just clarify that hahaha! I believe, that is the real Main Entrance, since it is the widest and most beautiful of all the entrance driveways I have seen!

That probably is a hundred meter stretch all the way from the main road. And being in that area alone is already a lovely rest and recreation for families. It's a garden park with flowers, trees and fountains.

Let me clarify too, that that is probably where you will or should enter when you visit Masjid Jame. Oh yes, some Bruneians do also call this place in that way, to shorten Masjid Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah.

Alrightie, let's go to some place else, still in Bandar Seri Begawan!

Oops oo nga pala.., da tsimax! I asked my driver/guide about this, but his reply was just a non-exciting "maybe". Hmp! Masyadong "politically correct" eh, 'no? Very well-trained tourist guide, dapat tularan! O anyway, the thing I heard from a friend of a friend is: those 29 fountains and the 'flowing water' around them, were conceptually meant to serve as 'wudu' zones (washing areas before entering the mosque).

Nice idea, right? I could imagine, it would have seemed like a 'biblical' or 'quranic scene'. But the buzz is, someone 'up there' didn't like it that people were out in the open washing their feet, hands or faces! Thus, they still made the 'wudu rooms', which as I said, are located under those grand stairs. Ganern!

So, was it an architectural or design flaw? Medyo lang haha. Di bale, maganda pa rin ang labas!

Okay, that is it! So we left the mosque, purportedly to bring me back to my hotel na. For apparent lack of time, both driver/guide and I decided we cannot anymore pass by another Pinoy-made edifice, the BICC or Brunei International Convention Center. But we ended up visiting another Pinoiy-made marvel!

That's our next topic!

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