The Landmarks of Jakarta the Capital and Largest City of Indonesia ---The Sudirman-Thamrin Avenues lies at the heart of Jakarta. Here are headquartered Indonesia’s central bank, Bank Indonesia, and most major banks. Separating the Sudirman from the Thamrin is the central fountain that cools this roundabout, which is surrounded by the landmark buildings of Hotel Indonesia and Wisma Nusantara, the first high rise buildings in Jakarta. The Hotel Indonesia circle is today the preferred location for public demonstrations, exactly because of the continuous busy traffic circulating here. Along this main boulevard are also a number of Jakarta’s top hotels.Along the Sudirman is located the Senayan Sports Center, the sports complex built by Indonesia’s first President, Soekarno, in 1962 to hold the Ganefo (Games of the New Emerging Forces) and the reason for the construction of the Sudirman-Thamrin roads. Here is also the Jakarta Convention Center, venue for prime international conventions and exhibitions.
The Sudirman-Thamrin avenue leads to the Merdeka Square, where in its center stands the National Monument which houses the first red-and-white flag flown at the Proclamation of Independence on 17 August 1945. This flag has now become threadbare, and so nowadays on Independence Day ceremonies, the original flag is taken out but only to accompany the replica flag to be flown in front of the Merdeka Palace. The 137 meter tall National Monument is obelisk shaped, and is topped with a 14.5 meter bronze flame coated with 32 kilograms gold leaf. Within the pedestal is a museum depicting in diorama Indonesia’s fight for Independence as well as the original text of the Proclamation of Independence. A lift takes visitors up to the look-out platform at the base of the flame for a grand view of Jakarta.
Surrounding the Monument is now a park with a musical fountain, enjoyed by the Jakarta public on Sundays for sports and recreation. Deer roam among the shady trees in the park.
Merdeka Square is the center of most important government buildings. During Dutch colonial days here was the center of government, known as Koningsplein or the King’s Square. The north side is dominated by the Merdeka Palace once the home of the Dutch Governor Generals, which now also houses the office of the President and the Cabinet. To the South is the office of Indonesia’s Vice President, Jakarta’s Governor and provincial parliament building, as also the American Embassy , while to the West is the National Museum, the Constitutional Court, the Ministry for Culture and Tourism and the Indosat building, Indonesia’s first international telecommunications company.Beyond Merdeka Square lie principal Dutch colonial buildings constructed in neoclassical style during the 19th century, that include buildings surrounding Lapangan Banteng, or Banteng Square, namely the present day Department of Finance, the neo-gothic Catholic Cathedral and adjoining Sancta Ursula girls school, and further down the Foreign Office and the Imanuel protestant church, facing Jakarta’s main Gambir station.
Across the road to the Cathedral stands now Jakarta’s largest mosque, the Istiqlal mosque. Nearby is the Concert Hall and colonial style shopping street called Pasar Baru, once the preferred haunt of the wealthy Dutch elite. In the 18th century Dutch Batavia was famed as the “Queen of the East”.
Behind the President’s Palace is the canal which runs north pass the old Archive building to the Old Batavia, once the seat of the Dutch East Indies Company, VOC, built by Governor-General Jan Peterszoon Coen in the 17th century. Here renovations continue to preserve this historic area of the city which is dominated by the Stadhuis, or municipal building, which now houses the Jakarta History museum. In front of it is a central paved plaza, now named the Fatahillah Square, after Sultan Fatahillah, founder of this port, who before the arrival of the Dutch razed the old harbour to the ground on 22 June 1527 and renamed it Jayakarta, City of Victory. The square is surrounded by once important Dutch government buildings that have now become museums, among which the Fine Arts Museum and the Wayang Museum.
Further down is the old harbor called Sunda Kelapa, in its heyday it was the thriving entrepot for the Far East trade in cloves, nutmeg and pepper, sandalwood, silks and more. Here one can still admire majestic Bugis phinisi schooners at anchor where men still carry on their backs loads of merchandise for the archipelago. Nearby are the old warehouses where now stands the Maritime Museum.
Today, the former location of Batavia town proper is Jakarta’s predominantly Chinese business district, but a large part of this is now modernized with full air-conditioned shopping centers and hotels.
Other important areas in Central Jakarta are the Jalan Gatot Subroto, where stands Indonesia’s Parliament building, and Jalan Rasuna Said, location of most foreign Embassies.
But Jakarta has continued to spread out into all directions and this metropolis now consists of interconnected self-contained clusters of residential areas, recreation and shopping centers, so that it is most important to note in which area of the city one is located.For a comprehensive glimpse of Indonesia visit the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, or the Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature Park, (link ke TMII) located in East Jakarta, accessible via the toll road. The Park displays original Indonesian houses from throughout the archipelago, all with their unique architectural style. Here is also an Imax theater, showing spectacular 3D films. Orchid lovers should not miss the Orchid Garden here.
For complete seaside recreation, Jakarta’s residents and domestic tourists throng to the Ancol Dreamland located on the north coast of the city. This is a sprawling resort complete with a Sea-world, a Fantasy World known as Dunia Fantasi or Dufan for short that includes boat rides into It’s a Doll’s World. There is also a large swimming arena complete with artificial waves and water-slides, a heart-stopping roller coaster and many thrilling rides such as the torpedo. This resort also has hotels, restaurants and a convention hall.
Jakarta also has a complete Zoo filled with the rich fauna of the archipelago. Located at Ragunan, here one can admire the magnificent bird of paradise, the Komodo lizard, the Orang Utan and all types of snakes. The Zoo also has a special section for Gorillas. The Jakarta Zoo is a special family favourite on public holidays.
