rizky's posts with tag: semarang
|  | this temple was built to respect and commemorate the chinese admiral zeng he/ cheng ho/ sam po thay for his visit in this site at 1405. interestingly this place believed once to be a mosque, since zeng he was a moslem. and until now visitors can see a tomb in islamic style believed to be the tomb of the zeng he's ship captain, including a small prayers chamber or surau (a tiny scale of mosque) surrounding the tomb.
however the original building has been going through several renovations. the biggest one was partially completed in 2005 and still undergoing for minors up to now. visitor can reach this temple by taxi or angkot 'public transport van'. for taxi from simpang lima area for example, will cost you not more then 20.000 rups. |
| | this temple known as gang lombok temple is originally named tay kak sie. believes to be built by chinese muslim admiral cheng ho (zheng he) in 1405 although this more likely myth instead of history is still debatable, but one thing for sure this temple is one of the oldest chinese temple in indonesia. located down town just few steps from the oudstad and the night food court of semawis.
zheng he / cheng ho / ma san bao / sam po thay / hajji mahmud shams, was a chinese mariner of hui ethnic descent, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who made the voyages collectively referred to as the travels of “eunuch sanbao to the western ocean” from 1405 to 1433.
zheng he was born in 1371 of the hui ethnic group and the muslim faith in modern-day yunnan province,[1][2] one of the last possessions of the mongols of the yuan dynasty before being conquered by the ming dynasty.
he served as a close confidant of the yongle emperor of china (reigned 1403�"1424), the third emperor of the ming dynasty. zheng he's ancestors include a general for genghis khan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_He
this place has been my favorite place to visit in semarang. not just for its historic value, but most of all because just beside the temple you can tastes the most spectacular food in semarang 'lumpia'. lumpia is originally chinese food but later on has become the city's trademark. with some 8000 rups per portion (somehow the price increases annualy) you can enjoy the best lumpia in town, and i love the 'basah' un fried one even better. |
| | the 'old town' as most people named the place or the 'oudstadt' in dutch is a colonial quarter situated at the verry heart of the city of semarang, a major port city during the dutch colonialism era. here you can visit the old church of imanuel, an old protestant church consecrated in 1794. more interestingly at inside the domed church you can see the huge music instrument called orgel or the baroque organ. today's interior is the result of an 1895 restoration and practically no changes have been made since then. the church is built on an octagonal plan, the nave encircled by eight large corinthian columns, with four entry porches of greek inspiration. the church is a hybrid of neoclassical and renaissance styles.
at 6pm
too bad not all building has been well restored due to administration and financial reasons, but ironically that creates an interesting photographic objects, just like one of the alley used as a fighting cock market, there some big banyan trees even grows at the wall of those abandoned buildings let the roots attached to the wall like a giant tentacles. somehow remind me to the ruins temple at the angkor complex.
heading north from this old quarter you'll find a polder just in front of the tawang train station, initially it was used to anticipate the rob water, fyi semarang level is a bit below the sea level. that's why some part of the oudstadt is constantly flooded with sea water.
another building that has been well taken care is the building situated just across the street of the domed church beside the ex-nilmij building which now operating as a fine restaurant, 'the ikan bakar cimahi', serving indonesian best cuisine especially grilled fish. though we were spoiled by the glamour of colonial style interior, but the price of the food in this white-gold painted building is absolutely affordable. for a large size grilled fresh water fish; gurame, sauted kangkung, a glass of hot tea and a glass of bandrek (ginger-milk-palm sugar-cinnamon) plus a bucket of rice, only cost me rp 70k (us$8). |
| | for most visitor who wish to visit indonesia, semarang might or mostly will not be listed on the destination list. but this melting pot city is now has become a worth visit destination.
situated at the central northern part of the island of java, this once a major port city during the dutch colonial era offers alot of interesting sites to be visited. oudstadt, means the old city quarter in dutch is one of the major attraction in the city. and gereja blenduk imanuel (the domed church of imanuel) is the landmark of this old quarter.
inside the oudstadt, you can find an art deco building designed by a famous dutch architect, thomas karsten, for the nillmij, a dutch insurance company.
once a nilmij's
this modern building on its time situated exactly across the domed church of imanuel.
herman thomas karsten (1885-1945) was a dutch engineer who gave major contributions to architecture and town planning in indonesia during dutch colonial rule. Most significantly he integrated the practice of colonial urban environment with native elements; a radical approach to spatial planning for indonesia at the time. he introduced a neighborhood plan for all ethnic groups in semarang, built public markets in yogyakarta and surakarta and a city square in the capital batavia (now jakarta).
between 1915 and 1941 he was given responsibility for planning 12 out of 19 municipalities in java, 3 out of 9 towns in sumatera and a town in borneo (kalimantan). he received official recognition from both the government through his appointment to the colony's major town planning committee and by the academic community with his appointment to the position of lecturer for town planning at the school of engineering at bandung. He died in an internment camp near bandung in 1945 during the japanese occupation in indonesia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Karsten
motels and hotels in semarang are available from rp. 50k (us$6) to rp. 2.000k (us$ 220) per night. |
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