Jakarta, Indonesia 


Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia, located on the northwestern shore of Java Island. Its history as an important maritime port stretches back over a thousand years, and its long, old docks still bustle with commercial traffic, especially inter-island cargo ships reminiscent of the wooden vessels that have been arriving here for centuries. But today, high-rise hotels, international banks, and shopping malls abound in this city of ten million inhabitants, and even the broadest avenues suffer daily bouts of gridlock during peak commuting hours. Nothing remains of the pre-colonial city, Jayakarta. But the town square of the old colonial capital, Batavia, remains intact not far south from the old dockyards. The facades of former government buildings and warehouses, which served the Dutch East Indies officials and merchants, flank the public square and line several of its nearby streets. Today, some of these remain empty, while others are finding new life as cafés and museums. Nearby is the Chinatown area dating from the same period; an ongoing open-air market fills its narrow lanes, though the purveyors of frogs, seafood, and other assorted delicacies may no longer be Chinese. —Usha, Dec 2016.

 

Kota Tua

Jakarta Old Town
aka Old Batavia (more)

Dutch colonial era
buildings (more)

Once HQ of the Dutch
East India Company

Ex city hall of Batavia,
now Jakarta History Museum

Bikes and hats for hire

Cafe Batavia ...

Cafe Batavia bar

Dining hall (restroom)

Central Jakarta

Mesjid Istiqlal (mihrab)

Visitors

Mosque interior (1, 2)

Men reading scripture

Jakarta Cathedral (1901)

Seat of the Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Jakarta

The Church of Our Lady
of Assumption

Built in neo-gothic style

National Musuem,
built in 1862 (1, 2)

A Bhairawa king from
Rambahan in Sumatra

Poorly archived and
displayed statuary (more)

A map of ethnic groups
in Indonesia

Brahma, 8-9th cent. CE
(info)

A gamelan music set

Various ethnic houses
from across Indonesia

Ancestor statues from
Nias (with giant penis)

Chinatown (Glodok)

Greens

Produce from the sea

Chicken beaks and feet

Root veggies

Take my photo please

Crabs

Chinatown street

Chinatown street

Various dried fungi

Skinned frogs

Live frogs

Produce from the sea

Peeling a fruit

Snacks

Mice for sale

Chinatown street

Caged birds are popular

Jin De Yuan,
(Buddhist temple)

Temple interior (1, 2)

Outside the temple

Sunda Kelapa

Old port of Jakarta,
dates from c. 1200 CE

Now used for inter-island
freight service (more)

Traditional wooden
sailing ships (more)

Woman on a motorbike

 

 

 



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