As we are all much more familiar with palaces like the Istana, Istana Kampong Glam and the infamous Istana Woodneuk, it came to my surprise that Singapore was once home to as many as 30 istanas.
What is up guys? It’s me Fazli and join me as we rediscover this unknown piece of monument, or shall I say an Istana, that has been left abandoned. And that’s what we’re here to find out.
I stumbled upon an article on the internet where a local heritage researcher pinpointed the location of 20 of the former istanas which he found information of its owner. I was intrigued by the location that he has mentioned, and I chose to visit this particular one that’s located here in Kallang.
Just to give a little background on what these Istanas served back then. It is used to function as ‘embassies’ to their respective communities.
Well, we don’t have concrete information or evidence, but based on the research, this is the Istana Johor of Kallang.
There’s really nothing I can find on the internet that mentions anything about this Istana Johor of Kallang, like no one has actually written anything about it
It was mentioned that this istana might go all the way back from the 12th century.
While there’s no firm sources about it, I guess this one has to be one of the Forgotten Istanas in Singapore.
I’m just intrigued by it. The fact that I only found about this piece of history after more than 25 years of my existence. I wish they taught us this back in school.