FORT ROTTERDAM - MY FIRST HISTORY LESSON OF MAKASSAR

13th OCTOBER 2017 ~ My first real life history lesson of Makassar started at Fort Roterdam - a fortress originally built by Makassar rulers to defend the land from the Dutch East India Company back in 1634.

The buildings here looked well-kept and the paint was quite new. All the buildings here were erected by the Dutch except the single story one was built by Japanese during their occupation.

I even hired a tour guide called Yasin, a student from one of the universities here who is studying English as his major. He insisted to speak English as he felt I could understand him better than using Indonesian language. I paid him 100 000 Rupiah for the tour in the fort.

The fort was the shape of a turtle - with the head of the turtle facing the sea.

a chimney

a real secret tunnel

with Yasin, the tour guide

The architecture made me feel as if I was in the Netherlands. There was also a museum here which I decided to visit to complement my short stay in the fort.

[MY MAKASSAR TRIP MAIN PAGE]

MEDAN: THE LANDSCAPE THAT TELLS THE HISTORY

29th JANUARY 2017 ~ After the walk in the park, it was time to see the landscape of Medan city that should revealed its history. The old buildings erected during the Dutch occupation (hence the influence on the architecture) could be seen standing around the area of Lapangan Merdeka. They were all in good conditions, and were well-preserved.

Medan is the fifth largest city by population and the third largest city by land area in Indonesia. It was once an important trade and commerce centre for Sumatera Island and that should explain the colonial structures around. For one thing, I found that the traffic jam in Medan was more bearable than Jakarta and Bandung.

the Post Office

Bank Indonesia

Mandiri Bank at Lapangan Merdeka

London Sumatera Indonesia

antique Vespa motorcycles on display

a new hotel in the city

the railway station

a common sight in the city

We would need more time to learn more of the city's history but it was getting late and we were getting exhausted. Medan. I did not expect to see many historical buildings here.

Click HERE to read more about the historical/colonial buildings in Medan.

[MY MEDAN TRIP MAIN PAGE]