Medan – The Gateway to North Sumatera

Teddy Nee,

Correspondent (Travel)

 

Medan, the capital city of North Sumatera province is located strategically nearby Malaysia and Singapore at the Western Indonesia. You just need less than one hour by flight to reach Penang Island, Malaysia; and about one and half hour to reach Singapore. Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia and the largest city outside Java Island, where the capital city is located; as well as the largest in Sumatera Island.

This bustling city is developing with the growing business and investment. Apart from that, it also offer various distinct experience which you will not find anywhere in Indonesia.

 

History

A Malay sultanate once ruled the area, which today we know as Medan. The Acehness finally conquered the area in the early 17th century after years of battling. Both the kingdom of Aceh and the Malay sultanate kingdom of Deli used the plains as the battlefield at that time. Hence, “Medan” translates as “battlefield” during the end of 16th century to the early 17th century.

Agricultural plantation began in 1860’s because of the rich volcanic soil. Dutch entrepreneurs introduced tobacco in 1865, and this led to the increase foreign investment from Europe. Apart from crops of tobacco, they also planted rubber, palm oil, and tea. As a result, Medan grew from a small village into a prosperous Dutch colonial city. The Dutch named Medan as the capital city of North Sumatera in 1886.

The population of Medan exploded rapidly after the independence to what it is today. The European architecture in many buildings reflects the influence of its Dutch colonial era.

Ethnicity
The diversity in Medan has enriched its culture. You can find several ethnic groups, such as Javanese, Batak, Malay, Chinese, Indian, Minang, Acehness, etc.

Batak community was the first inhabitant in Medan. Thus, it is famous as the home of Batak people, although the Malay initially governed the area. In addition, a large wave of Javanese migration to Medan from Java Island because of the government’s policy has formed the largest community in Medan. A large number of Chinese is also highly visible in Medan, and they are very active in business sector. Indian Tamil has also formed a well-known neighborhood in Medan known as kampung keling/ kampung madras.

Culinary
Diverse ethnicity in Medan has also enriched its culinary. The majority is hot and spicy. However, this city is big with its diverse ethnicity that you can even find almost any kind of food to satisfy your appetite, including foreign cuisine, such as Japanese, Korean, and Western food. Medan indeed offers a wide variety of cuisine.

Makanmana.net, a Medan-based culinary website shows a wide range of food that you can find in Medan. There are more than 300 dining places reviewed in the website and it even shows a section of recommended breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Attractions
If you would like to learn about the history of the Malay sultan of Deli, you can visit Maimoon Palace, which was built in 1888 by Italian architect. Closely related to Maimoon Palace, the Malay sultan of Deli built a Morrocan-style Masjid Raya (The Great Mosque) in 1906 by the Dutch architect from Amsterdam named Dingemans.

Rahmat Gallery, a museum of wild animal has a collection of over 600 wild animals around Asia.

There are many old European-styles building in Medan. These Dutch heritages are still conserved well until today. Several examples are the old City Hall, the Tirtanadi Water Tower, and the central Post Office.

Chinese has set foot in Medan for a long time. One of the most prominent evidence is Tjong A. Fie Mansion, the house of a rich Chinese merchant and one of the founding fathers of Medan. Because of his good relationship with the Malay sultan of Deli and the Dutch, he was appointed as the leader of Chinese community at that time.

Sri Mariaman Temple, a Hindu temple locates in kampung keling/ kampung madras is the oldest Hindu temple in the whole Sumatera. The Indian community in Medan built it in 1884.

Image Courtesy: By Lsj (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons