BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 40,000 people visited Istana Nurul Iman, the royal palace of Brunei on Tuesday, the first day of the three-day "Open Palace."
As a country with around 400,000 population, Brunei has kept the tradition to open its royal palace to the public for years, in conjunction with the annual Muslim festival of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, to enable Bruneians and also tourists to have an audience with and convey their greetings to the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah as well as members of the royal family.
Istana Nurul Iman this year opens to the public for three days starting Tuesday which is the second day of the festival and sees a total of 38,437 people visiting.
As usual, the visitors as guests first have the chance to enjoy various special cuisines laid out for them and then proceed to the designated waiting area before the meet-and-greet with the Sultan as well as members of the royal family.
Besides citizens and tourists, visitors on Tuesday comprised officials and staff from various ministries, including the the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Royal Brunei Armed Forces personnel.
The sultanate celebrates Hari Raya with three-day national holiday starting from Monday. Hari Raya is Brunei's traditional festival, which falls at the end of the Muslim fasting month.
