As of today the *museum* is closed, reportedly due to the unresolved issue of succession: the last sultan died in 2015. The *palace* consists of two large rooms of artifacts open to view: royal portraits in oils or photographs (the photos badly faded), some old maps, and gifts given to the sultan by foreign rulers and other dignitaries, some impressive and intriguing, many in need of a good dusting.
Tiny Dutch cannon, giant spittoons, swords, helmets, etc. I spotted a large wooden table carved and painted with flowers; it was under plastic sheeting and unlabeled. I asked the guard, "Ternate?" And he nodded, but no more info came and the cover did not come off. Many labels are in Indonesian only. Shoes may not be worn in the building. Guides/guards speak no English. Fabulous commanding view over town and sea from the porch. Grounds badly overgrown.no set fee but a donation is requested.

This is the best place to start a trip in Ternate. You can learn about the history of Ternate and his relationship with Portuguese, VOC and others. Unfortunately, the information inside is very limited and there is no real guide who can explain it.

This museum is a sultanate which was turned as museum. A lot of historical valued items are displayed but the captions are not sufficient to explain the items. Many of the pictures or diagrams need renewals to retain readability. The potential is there for the museum to be one of the attractions but the management needs enforcement. The curators were excellent and they could answer my questions knowledgeably. Too bad though if they were not equipped with enough presentation skills as not many visitors would be ready with questions ....