Fun Facts about Istana Lama Seri Menanti

Istana Lama Seri Menanti is the replacement for the Istana Pulih that has been burnt by the British soldier when chasing Yamtuan Antah during the Bukit Putus War. 

YAMTUAN ANTAH

The process of the building is starting on 1902 and done on 1908. The expenses for the palace is $45, 000 and it’s worth it.

One of the uniqueness of the Istana Lama Seri Menanti is the design of the palace. The following list is the uniqueness the design of the palace.  :

a)    4 floor of the palace, and each of it have its own function which are, the first floor it has the 4 rooms and the  balcony that 160 feet long. The second floor has 3 rooms which is lived by the royal family and the third  and the fourth floor have 1 room each. The third floor is the Yamtuan Muhammad’s room and the fourth floor is the royalty treasure storage place.

b)   According to Datuk Besar Meon, there is no usage of the iron nail during the building of the palace. Instead of using the iron nail, it is using a hard wooden stake

c)    This palace also have the pillar that height, 19.9 meter  with the 4 pillars at the middle ( 170 meter ) that is not connected each other.  According to the story, the wood that used is “Penak” that got from the Bukit Pergai at Jelebu. All this wood carried with 3 carts.

d)   The sum of all pillars in the palace are 99 which are stands for 99 warriors. According to the history, each of the warriors upright one of the pillar during the building process. Meanwhile, the 4 main pillars are represent the Orang Empat Istana ( the palace empower man / hulubalang)

e)    The roof of the palace is designed inspired by the buffalo horn that symbolized peace.

f)   This palace also have the different height at the front and the back of the palace. Each of the sector carved with the beautiful and exclusive pattern. The carved also inspired by the environment such as, cloud, flower, mountain and so on.

There are a lot of old treasure that still preserved in the palace.  
  
Sources :
http://www.arkib.gov.my/
http://mforum2.cari.com.my/archiver/?tid-404292.html
http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istana_Lama_Seri_Menanti