The  Istana Kampong Glam hardly seems a fitting palace for Singapore's former royal family, but there's a fascinating and controversial story behind its current state of sad disrepair. In 1819, Sultan Hussain signed  the original treaty that permitted the British East India Trading Company to set up operations in Singapore.

It's not known who designed the Istana, but many believed it was George Coleman who did, in addition to official buildings, also contracted himself out to design residences. The style certainly resembles singnature elements found in some of his other works.

The mosque was built when Sir Stamford Raffles made provision in 1823 for Sultan Hussein to build a mosque near his palace, which was located in Kampong Glam. Raffles promised that the company he was working for, promised to fund $3000 for its construction and construction started in 1824-1826. 

In 1879, the grandson of Sultan Hussein Shah, Sultan Alauddi Shah, the ruler of Singapore during that time, handed over the adminisration of the mosque to a Board of trustees comprising of five Muslim leaders. 35 years later, the lease of land in which Sultan Mosque stands, was extended for 999 years. The previous Board of trustees was replaced with a stronger one, consisting of 12 members.

After a hundred years, the board of trustees, which is in charged of the administration of the mosque, proposed to rebuild a new building for the mosque on the same site as the original building was in dire need of repairs. Construction went through phases so as not to disrupt the prayers in the Mosque. The new building, which costs $200,000, was completed fours years later. 

Sultan Mosque holds a special place among Singapore Muslims. Not only is it a principal place of worship and a symbol of the unity and solidarity of the Muslim community, it is also closely associated with Kampong Glam, the historic area set aside by Sir Stamford Raffles for Sultan Hussain Shah, the ruler of Singapore, and his followers.

By 1901, Singapore's Malay-Muslim population stood at more than 36,000 out of a total of about 230,000. The widespread publication and distribution of religious writings enhaced Singapore's position as an Islamic literary centre. Many of the Muslim immigrants graviated towards Kampong Glam. The number of Muslim worshippers increased, most rapidly in the late 19th century due to the influx of Malay immigrants.

Today, Sultan Mosque remains as the principal place of worship for the Muslims. Devotees come nearly every day, while on Fridays, nearly 5000 Muslims are present, filling the mosque to the brim. This is even more so during the two main festivals of the year.

Sultan Mosque is located in Beach Road. It was build in front of the king's house (The Istana). It was completed in 1928. It is one of the most imposing religious points for Muslim in Singapore. It was one of the fisrt few masjids to be build on the island. It is one of the most frequented prayer venue. It also has a capacity of 2000 people. The mosque was declared 

 a preserved historical building under the patronage of the Preservation Monuments Board Act in 1975. It has become one of Singapore's national heritage.

             These are pictures of Sultan Mosque.

The house to the left before the main gate of the Istana compound is called Gedung Kuning, or Yellow Mansion. It was the home of Tenkgu Mahmoud, the heir to Kampong Glam. When he died, it was purchased by local Javanese businessman Haji Yusof, the belt merchant.