The National Monument (Monumen Nasional, "MONAS") 

 

MONAS is Jakarta’s principal landmark and is the most famous architectural extravagance of Indonesia's former dictators.  Begun in 1961 by President Sukarno (the Country's first President), it was not completed until 1975, when it was officially opened by President Suharto (the second President).

 

Resembling the Washington and Buenos Aries Monuments, MONAS is constructed from Italian marble, and is topped with a sculpted flame, gilded with 35kg of gold leaf.  Visitors may take an elevator to an observation deck at the the top of the monument to overlook the Indonesian Capital.  At the base of the Monument is a Natural History Museum, which tells the story of Indonesia’s independence struggle in 48 dioramas.

 

The National Museum (Museum Nasional)

 

The National Museum, built in 1862, is the best museum of its kind in Indonesia, and one of the finest in Southeast Asia.  For many, this is the one museum in the Capital which is an "essential visit."

 

The museum has four floors with sections devoted solely to the origin of mankind in Indonesia, including a model of the Flores 'hobbit.'

 

From Java's Hindu-Buddhist kingdom days, there is a superb display of gold treasures and fine bronzes.  Just outside the museum is a bronze elephant that was presented by the King of Siam (Thailand) in 1871.

 

There are many interesting stone pieces salvaged from Central Javanese temples.  Around the open courtyard is some magnificent statuary, including a colossal 4.5m stone image of a Bhairawa king from Sumatra who is shown trampling human skulls.

 

The ethnology section houses an enormous collection of cultural objects from the various ethnic groups of the country - costumes, musical instruments, model houses and so on.  Particularly interesting are the fascinating textiles collected throughout the archipelago and the wooden puppets bearing beards from the Dayak tribe of Kalimantan on the island of Borneo.

 

Istiqlal Mosque (Masjid Istiqlal) and Cathedral Church (Gereja Katedral)

 

Situated directly across the street from one another, the proximity of Jakarta's central mosque and central Catholic cathedral is often referred to as symbolic of the pluralism that marks this multi-religious nation.

 

ISTIQLAL MOSQUE

 

Indonesia's grandest house of worship, Istiqlal Mosque is a unique setting for a religious experience.  It is the largest Mosque in Southeast Asia and the third largest in the world.  President Soekarno (Indonesia's first President) inaugurated the project, but President Soeharto (the second President) was in power when it was finished.

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The mosque's most notable guests have been Bill Clinton in 1995, Prince Charles in 2008, and Barack Obama in 2010.

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The mosque sits on 9.5 hectares of land.  Constructed with German steel and Indonesian marble, it took 17 years to build. The larger dome, 45m in diameter, signifies the year 1945 when Indonesia declared independence.  The smaller dome, 8m in diameter, represents August, the month of independence. The 17m between the ceiling and the symbol of the star and moon on the roof represents the 17th of August, Independence Day.  There are five floors, which represent the five pillars of Islam. The building as a whole is designed to be an icon of religious tolerance in Indonesia.

 

CATHEDRAL CHURCH

 

A stunning work of architecture, Cathedral Church attracts hundreds of devout Catholics who come here to sit on its stone benches, pray, light candles and look upon the statue of Saint Mary set in a tall stone wall covered with vines.

 

The Cathedral Church was established after the original church, built in the early 1800s by the Jesuit Ordo, collapsed due to poor construction.  Created in neo-Gothic style, it was officially opened in 1901.  The church sports twin spires, an ivory tower representing Saint Mary's purity and another which guards against the powers of darkness.

 

The churches most notable guests have included Pope Paul VI in 1970 and Pope John Paul II in 1989.

 

Dapur Babah Elite Restaurant  (Babah Heritage Cuisine)

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During Indonesia's Dutch colonial period, waves of ethnic Chinese emigrated to Indonesia.  From the early 1600s through to the early 1900s, these Chinese immigrants intermarried and assimilated into local Indonesian communities, and the Chinese-Indonesian culture that emerged at that time became known as the "Babah culture."

 

Dapur Babah Elite celebrates the cuisine of the almost-forgotten Babah culture - a cuisine which fuses Chinese, Indonesian and Dutch flavours to produce some of the most delectable epicurean delights in Indonesia.  And the pleasure of dining at Dapur Babah Elite is enhanced by the indigenous presentation of gigantic crackers and vertical fishes on beautiful tableware from the Dutch colonial-Chinese Babah period.

 

Entering Dapur Babah Elite, guests are transported to another hemisphere - a world of Eastern mysteries of unknown origins, faraway destinations and mystical spirituality.  Eccentric?  Definitely . . . but wonderfully so!