Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque is an Islamic mosque located in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of the Sultanate of Brunei. Considered as one of the most beautiful mosques in the Asia Pacific, it is a place of worship for the Muslim community, a major landmark and a tourist attraction of Brunei.
Named after Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the 30th Sultan of Brunei who also initiated its construction, the mosque serves as a symbol of the Islamic faith in Brunei and dominates the skyline of Bandar Seri Begawan. The building was completed in 1958 and is an example of modern Islamic architecture.
The mosque unites Mughal architecture and Italian styles. The design was done by A.O.Coltman of the firm Booty and Edwards Chartered Architects, who were based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at that time. The Brunei Times however reported on May 5, 2007:[1]
"According to a senior architect at the Public Works Department (PWD), the architect employed to design the mosque was an Italian named Cavalieri R Nolli, who used an early design prepared by His Majesty himself and drawn with the assistance of Awang Besar Sagap, a PWD draughtsman. The detailed architectural plan was prepared by Booty and Edwards Chartered Architects and the construction work was done by Sino-Malayan engineers. The construction costs were very modest between $7.7 and $9.2 million.