Our four islands holiday (5): Jakarta
We had a daylong tour of Jakarta with Daniel, leaving the hotel at 9 am.
We started with a visit to the Istiqlal Mosque – the name ‘Istiqlal’ comes from the Arabic word for ‘independence’. This is the largest mosque in Southeast Asia and the ninth largest in the world and it can accommodate up to 120,000 worshippers. It was opened to the public in 1978.
Located opposite the Jakarta Cathedral, the mosque is intended to be a powerful symbol of Indonesia’s commitment to unity in diversity. Our next visit was to the neo-gothic cathedral which was originally built in 1829, collapsed in 1890, and rebuilt in 1901.
Next we moved on to Merdeka Square which hosts the National Monument known as Monas, a 132-metre (433 feet) tower topped with a gold flame, built in 1962 and symbolising Indonesia’s fight for independence. One can climb the inside, but not today (Monday) when museums and monuments are closed throughout the country.
We went next to the Chinatown section of the capital, overflowing with stalls selling every kind of food and fashion. Then we continued to Jakarta’s Old Town, known as Batavia in the days of the Dutch, where remnants of the Dutch colonial era remain.
It was time for lunch and this was held at a small place called the New Batavia Cafe in Fatahillah Square. One more destination awaited; strolling through the Old Town, we found the Makutharama Puppet Studio. The storytelling tradition of Java wayang (shadow) puppetry has been recognised by UNESCO and we studied a selection of the flat leather, flat wooden, and three-dimensional wooden puppets.
Today the temperature was 32C and the humidity was 80%, so it was something of a relief to be back at the hotel at 3.20 pm.