Istana Balai Besar

Istana Balai Besar

Istana Balai Besar (The Grand Place) is a single story palace built by Sultan Muhammad II over 170 years ago, as the official residence of past sultans. It is believed that bullfights used to be held in the palace for official Royal ceremonies until mid-1900. The palace is now used for official state functions and is not open to public. Another palace built by Sultan Muhammad II is the Jahar Palace (Istana Jahar). It was built for his grandson, and it was built up from wood, furnished with unique wood carvings.

Kelantan is known to be the most religious state in Malaysia and Islam has a strong influence in the people's daily lives. Museum Islamic (Muzium Islam / Dewan Syurga) is known to house many Islamic artifacts and it definitely explain how Islam came about to Kelantan.

Another way of seeing through the Kelantanese is via their local cuisines and culinary, and there's no other better place than Siti Khadijah Market. The market is named after Prophet Mohammad's wife, whom is an extraordinary entrepreneur, which is well suited for this market which runs mostly by women. It has a good variety of local eateries and cuisines, apart from fresh seafood and vegetables.

Getting There

Istana Balai Besar is located at Jalan Tengku Seri Akar, Kota Bharu.