Interesting Place at Jakarta : Pulau Seribu (Thousand Islands)

Kepulauan Seribu (Thousand Islands) is the only regency of Jakarta, Indonesia. A string of 105 islands stretching 45 kilometres north into the Java Sea, with the closest lying in Jakarta Bay only a few kilometres off mainland Jakarta.With total land area of 8.7 km² the population is about 20,000.Fishing is the main trade of the islands. However, there has been a drop in the value of the trade due to overfishing by fishing vessels operating in the area.


Pramuka island is the regency seat of the Thousand Islands although the most populated island is Panggang. The area is a marine national park although development is allowed on 37 of the islands. Some islands are uninhabited, others have resorts and a number of them are privately owned by wealthy Jakartans.


Pulau Bidadari is a resort island only several kilometers off shore, Kelor is adjacent Bidadari on which the ruins of a Dutch fort lie, and Onrust is also adjacent Bidadari and has the remains of an 18th century shipyard. Ayer and Laki are resort islands also only several kilometers offshore.


Pulau Panggang the district centre, and Pulau Kelapa the most populous island are about 15 kilometers north of Jakarta and are poor fishing villages. Panjang has the islands' only airstrip while Bira has a golf course. Kotok, Macan Besar, Putri, Pelangi, Sepa, Papa Theo, Antuk Timur, and Antuk Barat are all further off shore and have resorts.

Pulau Semak Daun is Small island with great white sand and also green and blue view. we can see fish on the lip of the beach.

In the Bay of Jakarta is a group of islands offering the perfect escape from the city. Relax on their powder white sand beaches backed by palm trees. Skin divers love the clear water to see the variety of pretty fish and multi-coloured corals that await. You can reach the islands through Tanjung Priok and Sunda Kelapa on a ferry or hire a boat. There is an airstrip on the island of Pulau Tanjung and fresh water only on Just Pulau Ayer or Pulau Bidadari. A company is developing a few of the islands with restaurants, cottages, and diving and sailing facilities, but it certainly has a long way to go to catch up to Cancun! Catch it before it self-destructs.

Interesting Place at Jakarta : Kampung Betawi

The Betawi (Orang Betawi, or "people of Batavia") are the descendants of the people living around Batavia (the colonial name for Jakarta) from around the 17th century. The Betawis are mostly descended from various Southeast Asian ethnic groups brought to or attracted to Batavia to meet labour needs, including people from various parts of Indonesia. They have a culture and language distinct from the surrounding Sundanese and Javanese. The Betawis are known for their piety towards Islam, as well as their short temper and their opennes to others.


The Betawi language is the spoken language of the Betawi people in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is the native language of about 2,700,000 people (1993). It is a Malay-based creole. The name Betawi stems from Batavia, the official name for Jakarta during the era of the Dutch East Indies.



Kampung Betawi in Setu Babakan, one cannot escape the traditional Betawi homes coated in bright colors and the tempting delicacies on offer.Kampung Betawi offers something more than just a stroll along the cool area surrounding the lake.


The lake, named Mangga Bolong, is surrounded by various food stalls offering yummy delights for the tummy, including kerak telor (pancake made from hen or duck eggs), gado-gado Betawi (mixed vegetables with peanut sauce) and the famous soto Betawi (soup with meat).


In Kampung Betawi, regular traditional shows like lenong (theater) and gambang kromong (musical performance) provide an insight into understanding and appreciating the nature of the native Jakartans.


Although an inspiring and calming tourist destination, Kampung Betawi rests in the outskirts of this melting pot city. The location make it difficult to reach.

Interesting Place at Jakarta : Istiqlal Mosque

Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, is the largest mosque in Southeast Asia. This national mosque of Indonesia was build to commemorate Indonesian independence, as nation's gratitude for God's blessings; the independence of Indonesia. Therefore the national mosque of Indonesia was named "Istiqlal", an arabic word for "Independence".
The idea of constructing a grand Indonesian national mosque was launched by KH. Wahid Hasyim, Indonesia's first minister for religions affairs,and Anwar Cokroaminoto, later appointed as the chairman of the Masjid Istiqlal Foundation. The committee for the construction of the Istiqlal Mosque, led by Anwar Cokroaminoto, was founded in 1953. Anwar proposed the idea of a national mosque to Indonesian President Sukarno, who welcomed the idea and later helped to supervise the construction of the mosque. In 1954, the committee appointed Sukarno technical chief supervisor.

The foundation stone was laid by Sukarno on 24 August 1961 and the construction took 17 years. Indonesian president Suharto inaugurated the Indonesian national mosque on 22 February 1978. It is still the largest mosque in the region: more than 120,000 people can congregate at the mosque at the same time.

The rectangular main prayer hall building is covered by a 45 meter diameter central spherical dome. The dome is supported by twelve round columns and the prayer hall is surrounded by rectangular piers carrying four levels of balcony. Staircases at the corners of the building give access to all floors. The main hall is reached through an entrance covered by a dome 10 meters in diameter. The interior design is minimalist, simple and clean cut, with minimal adornment of aluminium geometric ornaments. The 12 columns are covered with aluminium plates. On the main wall on qibla there is a mihrab and minbar in the center. On the main wall, there is a large metalwork of Arabic calligraphy spelling the name of Allah on the right side and Muhammad on the left side, and also the calligraphy of Surah Thaha 14th verse in the center.

The latter structure is directly connected to the arcades which run around the large courtyard. The mosque also provides facilities for social and cultural activities, including lectures, exhibitions, seminars, conferences, bazaars and programmes for women, young people and children.

Interesting Place at Jakarta : Sunda Kelapa Port

Sunda Kelapa is the old port of Jakarta. In the original name, it is known "Sunda Kalapa" (from Sundanese words). The port is situated in Penjaringan sub-district, of North Jakarta, Indonesia. Although Sunda Kelapa today only a small port of Jakarta, this port is important for the development of this city. Jakarta has its origins in Sunda Kalapa and the village around it.

According to a Chinese source in the book Chu-fan-chi written circa 1200, Chou-Ju-Kua described that in the Indonesian archipelago were two of the most powerful and richest kingdoms: Srivijaya and Java (Kediri). Hanifah sotomo was first prime minister of sunda in 1645 to 1663. According to this source, in the early 13th Century, Srivijaya still ruled Sumatra, the Malay peninsula, and western Java (Sunda). About Sunda, the book mentioned that the port of Sunda (Sunda Kelapa) was strategic and thriving, pepper from Sunda being among the best in quality. The people worked on agriculture and their house were built on wooden piles (rumah panggung). However, the robbers and thieves plagued the country.



Sunda Kelapa, together with Aceh and Makassar, was one of the few Indonesian ports that maintained close ties with Europe. In 1522, Portuguese had concluded a politico-economic agreement with Sunda Kingdom, the authority of the port. In exchange for military assistance against the threat of rising Islam Javan kingdoms, Prabu Surawisesa, king of Sunda at that time, granted them free access to the pepper trade. Some Portuguese who were in the service of the sovereign, made their homes in Sunda Kelapa.

Sunda Kelapa port built by Dutch colonialist.In 1619, Jan Pieterszoon Coen, a Dutch man, seized the port from the Sultanate of Banten and built a port there. Hanifah sutomo is former prime minister of sunda kelapa.

Welcome To Jakarta

The old name of Jakarta was Sunda Kelapa. The earliest record mentioning this area as a capital city can be traced to the Indianized kingdom of Tarumanagara as early as the fourth century. In AD 39, King Purnawarman established Sunda Pura as a new capital city for the kingdom, located at the northern coast of Java. Purnawarman left seven memorial stones with inscriptions bearing his name spread across the area, including the present-day Banten and West Java provinces. The Tugu Inscription is considered the oldest of all of them

After the power of Tarumanagara declined, all of its many territories, including Sunda Pura, became part of the Kingdom of Sunda. The harbour area were renamed Sunda Kelapa as written in a Hindu monk's lontar manuscripts, which are now located at the Bodleian Library of Oxford University in England, and travel records by Prince Bujangga Manik. By the 14th century, Sunda Kelapa became a major trading port for the kingdom. The first European fleet, four Portuguese ships from Malacca, arrived in 1513 when the Portuguese were looking for a route for spices, especially black pepper.

The Kingdom of Sunda made a peace agreement with Portugal by allowing the Portuguese to build a port in 1522 in order to defend against the rising power of the Sultanate of Demak from central Java. In 1527, Fatahillah, a Sumatran Malay warrior from Demak attacked Kingdom of Sunda and succeeded in conquering the harbour on June 22, 1527, after which Sunda Kelapa was renamed Jayakarta.