Memory · Marawi, Lanao del Sur
Marawi’s Most Affected Area
The city center destroyed in the 2017 siege, and the slow work of rebuilding it.
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Museum · Marawi, Lanao del Sur
Aga Khan Museum of Islamic Arts
The best collection of Maranao and Mindanao material anywhere, on the MSU campus.
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The place
Museum in Marawi, Lanao del Sur
The best collection of Maranao and Mindanao material anywhere, on the MSU campus.
Museum
One of the guide’s own places.
When to go
A weekday: a visitor who came on a Sunday found it closed.
Safety in Lanao del Sur
The security picture here is more variable than in Cotabato City or Tawi-Tawi, and it moves. Marawi itself is visited, but travel is best arranged through local contacts, the city tourism office, or MSU, and some outlying municipalities are best left off an itinerary without current local advice. This is the area where asking on the ground matters most, and where a plan made from a distance is least reliable.
About this place
Inside Mindanao State University in Marawi, and the single most rewarding indoor hour in BARMM. The collection covers Maranao brass and okir carving, kulintang instruments, textiles, weaponry and torogan architectural elements — panolong beam ends carved into the winged forms that are the signature of the tradition.
It is a university museum rather than a national one, which means the labeling can be uneven and the presentation is plain. The objects carry it.
What to do
See the weapons from the Moro wars
The museum shows weapons used against the Spanish and the Americans, including the lantaka cannon, the kris and the kampilan.
en.wikipedia.orgSee the model pagoda mosques and torogan parts
Miniature pagoda-style mosques, replicas and pieces of torogan houses such as the carved panolong beam ends are on display, along with musical instruments and farm tools.
en.wikipedia.orgFind Abdulmari Imao's calligraphic sculptures
In 2016 the museum was reported to hold more than 300 of Abdulmari Imao's calligraphic sculptures of the name of Allah.
en.wikipedia.orgGo up to the natural history floor
The second floor holds the natural history collection and some traditional costumes, and the museum also has old photographs of Marawi from the American period.
langyaw.comTake a tricycle to MSU and check it is open
Tricycles are the easiest way to get around Marawi, so ask for MSU if the driver does not know the museum; hours have varied, so confirm before you travel and ask at the desk about photography.
langyaw.com
What to eat
Snacks at JECOs Cafe
JECOs, at the MCU Commercial Center, is among the best-known places to eat in the city, serving snacks and desserts from 10 am to 8 pm.
en.wikivoyage.org
Before you go
- On a university campus; entry is through MSU. Confirm it is open before traveling, as hours have varied.
- Photography rules vary by gallery — ask at the desk.
Where you’ll be
Marawi, Lanao del Sur
Sources
Crafts made in Marawi
Every craft of the region
textileMalong a landapThe malong a landap is the Maranao tube skirt made of broad plain-coloured panels joined by woven langkit bands. Handwoven landap are costly and worn at social functions, and their colours carry rank: yellow for sultans, red for warriors and green for imams.Hiart · CC0Photo by Hiart, CC0. Open the source file.- textileLangkitLangkit are narrow, multicoloured woven strips that join and decorate the panels of a Maranao malong. A trained eye could once tell which part of the Lake Lanao region a person came from by the patterns of their malong and langkit.Hiart · CC0Photo by Hiart, CC0. Open the source file.
carvingTorogan panolongPanolong are the large wing-like carved beam-ends that jut from the front of a torogan, the Maranao royal house. Modelled on the prows of Maranao boats, they make the house look like a royal vessel and are carved with the naga sea serpent and other okir.Nikka Cunom · CC BY 2.0Photo by Nikka Cunom, CC BY 2.0. Open the source file.
Where to sleep in Lanao del Sur
- No photo of this hotel yet
hotel
Ranaw Business Hotel
Marawi
Business hotel used for MSSD events in Marawi, October 2026
mssd.barmm.gov.ph · as of 2026-10 - No photo of this hotel yet
hotel
Samsara Palace Hotel and Event
Mapandi Bridge, Lilod Saduc, Marawi City
Hotel and events venue listed by the Bangsamoro Parliament, July 2026
parliament.bangsamoro.gov.ph · as of 2026-07 - No photo of this hotel yet
hotel
Santorini Hotel, Garden Cafe and Events Place
Heaven Road, Marawi City
Hotel with a garden cafe and events place, listed by the Bangsamoro Parliament, November 2024
parliament.bangsamoro.gov.ph · as of 2024-11 - No photo of this resort yet
resort
Lake View Resort
Timbangalan, Marawi City
Lakeside resort above Lake Lanao; hosted an MPOS livelihood training, May 2024
mpos.bangsamoro.gov.ph · as of 2024-05
Named where a public source names them; no rates or availability. Ask the place directly.
More to see nearby
Everything in Lanao del Sur
Mosque · Marawi, Lanao del Sur
Marawi Grand Mosque
Marawi's great mosque, damaged in the 2017 siege and rebuilt by 2021 to hold 20,000 worshippers.
Mosque · Marawi, Lanao del Sur
King Faisal Mosque
The mosque on the Mindanao State University campus, a gift of the King of Saudi Arabia, in green with painted petals on its dome.
Nature · Marawi, Lanao del Sur
MSU Golf Course
A 9-hole course on the Mindanao State University campus that is also a viewpoint over Lake Lanao and Marawi.
Best: December to April are the least rainy months at Marawi (about 140 to 185 mm a month) and May to July the wettest (330 to 415 mm)