Medan has changes pretty much over the last decades. It was a small, thriving city before the Second World War with 60,00 residents, nowadays it's a fast expanding metropole with a little less than 2 milion inhabitanst and very crowded streets full of new office buildings, stores and noisy motorized becaks and minivans which spew of thick clouds of pollution. The population from before the independence (Chinese, Indians, Jawanese and Europeans) has mixed up with the people from after the independence of local Sumaterand, mainly batak, but also Minangkabau, Acehnese and Malay.
Medan is, just like Jakarta, a warm and overcrowded business centre, and most visitors travel through it fastly to go to Danau Toba instantly. Still it's worth while staying a short time in the city. Medan had some pleasant hotels, and a number of special places of visit: well-maintaines colonial buildings, a magnificant palace, a royal mosque and a number of fascinating templet, markets and 'ethnical' quarters. A stay of a day or two should be enough to see the main attractions. Who want's to speed up this all can take a car or a becak.
Reminders to the plantation workers
Most visitors arrive by plane on Polonia International Airport, once the racetrack of the city and before that a tobacco plantation with a Polish owner. Polonia once was a fashionable colonial residential area, along the wide, shadowfull boulevards are still beautifull villa's.
The earlier main street of Jl Jend. Ahman Yani houses many european-style buildings. The street is locally still known as kesawan; road to the sawahs. Between the Chinese shops is, behind a fence, the house of the earlier
Kapitan Cina, (the leader of the Chinese community) Tjong A Fie, which earned a fortune in the plantation business. Across his house is Cafe Tip Top, once the favorite place of meeting for the colonial
beau monde of medan and still in almost original state. On the terrace Vienna iced coffee is served with Dutch cookies.
At the northern side of Jl. Ahman Yani is the building of the former rubber exporter Harrison and Crossfield, build from Aberdeen granith was brought in as balance in the 1920's. It now houses the P.T. London Sumatera, the Britisch consulate and the library of the Britisch council. Just behind the building, on the crossing of Jl. Kesenian and JKl. Hindi, is the memorial plate placed by MacKay in 1918. East, across Jl. Hindu at Gang Bangkok, is a small mosque with a centuries-old course, it's called the oldest in Medan.
Around the
padang (city square) north of Jl. Ahmad Yani are some colonial buildings, under them the town hall, the building of Bank Indonesia (formerly Jawa Bank), the Bank Negara (formerly the exclusive society De Witte, built in 1879), and Hotel Dharma Deli, the old Hotel De Boer, famous because of the roman 'Rubber' from Madelon Szekely Lulofs. The old railroad station is gone, but the
jembatan gantung, the original suspension bridge for the railroad is still there.
On the corner of Jl. Puteri Hijau is the old colonial post office, almost entirely in original construction, with the Nienhuys fountain, named after the man who started the enormous boom in the plantation culture. The earlu railroad building of the DSM (Deli Spoorweg Maatschappij) is at Jl. H.M. Yamin (earlier Jl. Serdang). Over the one meter wide railroad which connects the harbour of Belawan Deli with the more southern pematang Sianter and Rantau Prapat, is still being used for transporting plantation products.
At the nearby Jl. Tembaku Deli is the building of the VDM (Vereenigde Deli Maatschappij), built around 1910 by architect Berendse, it's now the headquarters of PTP IX, a state owned plantation company. Just west of the southern part of Jl. Ahmad Yani is the building of the earlier AVROS (Algemeene Vereeniging van Rubberplanters ter Oostkust van Sumatera), now the Sumateran Planters Association. It's recognized by the green-tiled dome.
The sultans palace
Due south Jl. Ahmad Yani become Jl. Brigjen. Katamso. At this street is number 66 het Istana Maimoon, the palace of the sultans of Deli, with it's yellow roof-border (yellow is the color of the Malay royal house) and the characteristic Malay eastcoast architecture. The palace was designed by an Italian architect and was completed in 1888. The meeting room, with portraits of the royap family of Deli, old Dutch furniture and a few weapons is opened to the public. The room has decorated tiles and elegant Morish arcades, supported by big pillars with flower patterns. To celebrate marriages and others Malay dancing shows are given here, guided by traditional music.
At the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century the Malay family of the sultan lived with big show in the biggest style. The Malay translater wealth into politics: a rich ruler was a ruler with many subjects, also if his tasks were just only of ceremonial importance. The income from the plantations was used to pay for the many people around the sultan, to make trips to Europe and to send their children to Dutch or English schools.
The sultans of Deli are said to be descendands of Mohammen Dalek Sri Paduka Gocah Pahlawan, a nobleman from Indian origine, which was appointed as the first ruler and governor of Aceh by the sultan of Aceh in 1630. After that, Deli was conquerred by Siak in 1770. In 1814 Mangidar Alam, the raja of Deli, the full title of Sultan Panglima Mangidar Alam Syah (The sultan-warrior that concludes the entire world) from the sultan of Siak. The royal family of Deli has maritial ties with Malay royal houses in Malaysia.
Besides the istana is a
balai (open pavilion) in Karo Batak Stile, built to cover up the
meriam puntung, the barrel of an old iron cannon. It is being associated with the legendaric Puteri Hijau, heroin from the wars between Aceh and Aru in the 16th century. Following the story she came from Siberaya from the Karo highlands. Nowadays she is promoting the strong ties of Deli with the Karo.
The cannon is named Indera Sakti, that should be the name of one of the brothers of the princess. The other one was
naga, a giant snake (
naga yang mengamuk), which helped her with the battle against the Acehnese. This legend probably originated from Southern India, in the time they has contact with the Tamil population there. This because there is a similar story about a green princess there.
Just east of the palace, at the other side of the railroad , is at Jl. Sisingamangaraja (named after the Batak priest-king which was killed by the Dutch in 1907) the Mesjid Raya, the Big Mosque, with her imposing, tiles and arched entrance, royal burial site and the
kolam (pond). When you look back through Jl. Sisingamangaraja from here, you will see the big water tower, the symbol of Medan.
Polonia
A walk in the AVROS building towards the west along Jl. Suprapto to the quarter of Poponia, bordering against the airport, gives an impression about the colonial style of life and the Medan from the 1920's and 1930's. While walking you will pass the river Deli, the former building of th HVA ('Handels Vereeniging Amsterdam'), now in use as headquarters of the police, and St. Elizabeth ziekenhuis. Wide lanes and bungalows give a sense of security and wealth in this area. This neighborhood is still the place where most foreigners live, however here too, the Indonesian way of constructing is mostly accepted too.
At the corner of Jl. Imam Bonjol and Jl. Sukamulia, on the inner court of Hotel Danau Toba, with it's entrance in original Batak style, is the earlier house of the Dutch assisting-regent. Besides at Jl. Imam Bonjol is the buddhist temple of Vihara Borobudur.
Further west, at Jl. Dipnegoro, is the office of the province governor, a colonial building, originally the tobacco tastery of Deli. Behind this is Medan Club, with it's nice wooden pillars and open shapes, it was build during the Japanese occupation by allied POW's as a shinto-temple for Japanese officers. More south, with a view over the river Babura, it Vihara Gunung Timur, the biggest Chinese temple of Medan, and maybe even the biggest in entire Indonesia. In the neighborhood is the protestant Emanuel church, a nice example of colonial art-deco architecture.
Further north at Jl. Imam Bonjol is a square that is dominated by a modern, in Batak style built province hall, the Benteng restaurant, the Congress centre, built on a location where the military barracs once stood, and Hotel Dirga Surya, where foodstalls improve the overall nightly scene on the street.
The nearby Kampung keling (Jl. Zainul Arifin), a busy business distruct, is originally the centre of Medans Indian community. Sri Mariammam-temple, enclosed in high walls, was build in 1884, to honour the goddess of Kali. The entrance ends up in a small
gopuram or ornamental piramid shaped gate. The modern Indian community are descendants from the South Indians which came here for work at the end of the 19th and the start of the 20th century. A second, less impressife Sri Mariammam temple is on Bekala Estate, a piece along the road to Pancurbatu, eleven kilometres south of Medan near the river of Sepit. The temple was built in 1876 and is the location of the yearly Thaipusam-festivities, the hinduist Theemithi-rituals (walking on fire), one of the few places in the world where this still happens.
Chinatown
East of the railroad, around Jl. Sutomo is the Chinese quarter, the lively trading centre of Northen Sumatera, with shops that sell really everything. Here are the most important markets of Medan, Pasar Sentral and Pasar Hongkong, eldorado's for local pickpockets. The area has changed dramatically over the last years. Because of the ever increasing numbers of visitors the streets were widened. But unfortunately that had the cost of most old shop-fronts. Many shops and small Chinese restuarants are still being managed the old-fashioned way.
During the durain season big mountains of these stingy, strong smelling fruits are waiting for buyers. Colorfull stalls along Jl. Selat Panjang sell Chinese- and fish specialties at night. Medan knows a big variety of delicious food: from food stalls to luxury restaurants.
