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Jakarta in Indonesia

Wednesday, 4 October 2017 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: Asia / Asien
Category/Kategorie: General Reading Time:  15 minutes

🔊 Listen to this Post Jakarta, officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, is the capital and most populous city of Indonesia. Located on the northwest coast of the world’s most populous island of Java, the city is the center of economics, culture and politics of Indonesia, with a population of 10.2 million. Greater Jakarta metropolitan area, which is known as Jabodetabek (a name formed by combining the initial syllables of Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi), is the second largest urban agglomeration in the world, with a population of 30.4 million inhabitants. Jakarta’s business opportunities, as well as its potential to offer a higher standard of living, attract migrants from all over Indonesian archipelago, making the city a melting pot of many communities and cultures. Established in the fourth century as Sunda Kelapa, the city became an important trading port for the Kingdom of Sunda. It was the de facto capital of the Dutch East Indies (Dutch East India Company), which was known as Batavia at that time. As the economic and political capital of Indonesia with so many different languages and ethnic groups, it is difficult to describe or define a common culture for Jakarta, as the city attracts many native immigrants, from the vast and diverse Indonesian archipelago, who also bring their various languages, dialects, foods (Indonesian cuisine and Betawi cuisine) and customs.This diversity of origins and languages leads to differences in regard to religion, traditions and linguistic and all in all culture. However ethnic Betawi are considered as the indigenous people of Jakarta. Jakarta consists of five Kota Administratif (Administrative city/municipality), each headed by a mayor – and a Kabupaten Administratif (Administrative regency). Each city and regency again is divided into districts/Kecamatan. The administrative cities/municipalities of Jakarta are:

• Central Jakarta (Jakarta Pusat) is Jakarta’s smallest city and home to most of Jakarta’s administrative and political centre. It is divided into 8 administrative district. It is characterised by large parks and Dutch colonial buildings. Landmarks include the National Monument (Monas), the Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta, the Jakarta Cathedral, and museums.
• West Jakarta (Jakarta Barat) has the highest concentration of small-scale industries in Jakarta. This city has 8 districts. The area includes Jakarta’s Chinatown and Dutch colonial landmarks such as the Chinese Langgam building and Toko Merah. West Jakarta contains part of Jakarta Old Town.
• South Jakarta (Jakarta Selatan), originally planned as a satellite city, is now the location of large upscale shopping centres and affluent residential areas. South Jakarta again divided into 10 territorial districts. Jakarta Selatan functions as Jakarta’s ground water buffer, but recently the green belt areas are threatened by new developments. Much of the CBD area of Jakarta is concentrated in Setia Budi, South Jakarta, bordering the Tanah Abang/Sudirman area of Central Jakarta.
• East Jakarta (Jakarta Timur) territory is characterised by several industrial sectors erected in this city. Also located in East Jakarta are Taman Mini Indonesia Indah and Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport. This city has 10 districts/kecamatan.
• North Jakarta (Jakarta Utara) is the only city in Jakarta that is bounded by the sea (Java Sea). It is the location of the Tanjung Priok. Large-scale and medium-scale industries are concentrated in North Jakarta. North Jakarta contains part of Jakarta Old Town, formerly known as Batavia since the 17th century, and was a centre of VOC trade activity in Dutch East Indies. Also located in North Jakarta is Ancol Dreamland (Taman Impian Jaya Ancol), currently the largest integrated tourism area in South East Asia. North Jakarta is divided into 6 districts.
• The only administrative regency (kabupaten) of Jakarta is: Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu), formerly a district within the city of North Jakarta, is a collection of 105 small islands located on the Java Sea. It has a high conservation value because of its unique and special ecosystems. Marine tourism, such as diving, water bicycle, and wind surfing, is the most important touristic activity in this territory. The main mode of transportation between the islands are speed boats or small ferries.

The museums in Jakarta cluster around the Central Jakarta Merdeka Square area, Jakarta Old Town, and Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. The Jakarta Old Town contains museums that are former institutional buildings of Colonial Batavia. Some of these museums are: Jakarta History Museum (former City Hall of Batavia), Wayang Museum (Puppet Museum) (former Church of Batavia), the Fine Art and Ceramic Museum (former Court House of Justice of Batavia), the Maritime Museum (former Sunda Kelapa warehouse), Bank Indonesia Museum (former Javasche Bank), and Bank Mandiri Museum (former Nederlandsche Handels Maatschappij). Several museums clustered in central Jakarta around the Merdeka Square area include: National Museum of Indonesia which also known as Gedung Gajah (the Elephant Building), Monumen Nasional (National Monument), Istiqlal Islamic Museum in Istiqlal Mosque and Jakarta Cathedral Museum on the second floor of Jakarta Cathedral. Also in the central Jakarta area is the Taman Prasasti Museum (former cemetery of Batavia), and Textile Museum in Tanah Abang area. The recreational area of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in East Jakarta contains fourteen museums, such as Indonesia Museum, Purna Bhakti Pertiwi Museum, Asmat Museum, Bayt al-Qur’an Islamic Museum, Pusaka (heirloom) Museum, and other science-based museum such as Research & Technology Information Centre, Komodo Indonesian Fauna Museum, Insect Museum, Petrol and Gas Museum, plus the Transportation Museum. Other museums are Satria Mandala Military Museum, Museum Sumpah Pemuda, and Lubang Buaya (Crocodile Well).

Jakarta has numerous shopping malls and markets. With a total of 550 hectares, Jakarta has the world’s largest shopping mall floor area within a single city. Malls such as Plaza Indonesia, Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, Plaza Senayan, Senayan City and Pacific Place provide luxury brands, while Mall Taman Anggrek, Pondok Indah Mall, Mal Kelapa Gading, Central Park Jakarta, Bay Walk Mall and Ciputra World Jakarta have high-street brands such as Topshop, Uniqlo and Zara. Department stores in Senayan City, Supermall Karawaci and Lippo Mall Kemang Village use the Debenhams brand under licence, while the Japanese Sogo department store has about seven stores in various shopping malls in the city. Seibu flagship store is located in Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, and French luxury department store, Galeries Lafayette opened its doors for the first time in South East Asia in Pacific Place. Internationally known luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Chanel, Gucci, Christian Louboutin, Balenciaga, and Giorgio Armani can be found in Jakarta’s luxury shopping malls. The Satrio-Casablanca corridor, 3.5-kilometre street is a new shopping belt in Jakarta. Many multistorey shopping centres are located here, such as Kuningan City, Mal Ambassador, Kota Kasablanka, and Lotte Shopping Avenue. Traditional markets include Blok M, Tanah Abang, Senen, Pasar Baru, Glodok, Mangga Dua, Cempaka Mas, and Jatinegara. In Jakarta there are also markets that sell specific collectable items, such as antique goods in Surabaya Street and gemstones in Rawabening Market.

Unlike other neighboring Southeast Asian cities Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, Jakarta is not a top international tourist destination. Most of the visitors attracted to Jakarta are domestic tourists from all over Indonesia. Slowly but steadily and gradually tourism contributes a growing amount of income to the city. The popular heritage tourism attractions are in Kota and around Merdeka square. Kota is the centre of old Jakarta, with its Maritime Museum, Kota Intan drawbridge, Gereja Sion, Wayang Museum, Stadhuis Batavia, Fine Art and Ceramic Museum, Toko Merah, Bank Indonesia Museum, Bank Mandiri Museum, Jakarta Kota Station, and Glodok (Jakarta Chinatown). In the old ports of Sunda Kelapa, the tall masted pinisi ship still sails. The Jakarta Cathedral with neo-gothic architecture in Central Jakarta also attracted architecture enthusiast. Other than monuments, landmarks, and museums around Merdeka square and Jakarta Old Town, tourist attractions of the city include Thousand Islands, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, Setu Babakan, Ragunan Zoo, Sunda Kelapa old port and the Ancol Dreamland complex on Jakarta Bay, including Dunia Fantasi (Fantasy World) theme park, Sea World, Atlantis Water Adventure, and Gelanggang Samudra. Thousand Islands, which is north to the coast of the city and in Java Sea is also a popular tourist destination. Most of the renowned international hotel chains have presence in the city. Jalan Jaksa and surrounding area is popular among backpackers for cheaper accommodation, travel agencies, second-hand bookstores, money changers, laundries, pubs, etc, while Kemang is a favorite suburb for expats living.

Jakarta has architecturally significant buildings in a wide range of styles spanning distinct historical and cultural periods. Architectural styles reflect Malay, Javanese, Arabic, Chinese and Dutch influences. The external influence gives a role in forming the architecture of the Betawi house. The houses were built of nangka wood and comprised three rooms. The shape of the roof is reminiscent of the traditional Javanese joglo. Colonial buildings and structures in Jakarta include those that were constructed during the Dutch colonial period of Indonesia. The dominant styles of the Dutch colonial period can be divided into three periods: the Dutch Golden Age (17th to late 18th century), the transitional style period (late 18th century – 19th century), and Dutch modernism (20th century). Dutch colonial architecture in Jakarta is apparent in buildings such as houses or villas, churches, civic buildings, and offices, mostly concentrated in the Jakarta Old Town and Central Jakarta. Architects such as J.C. Schultze and Eduard Cuypers designed some significant buildings in Jakarta. Works of Schultze includes Jakarta Art Building, the Indonesia Supreme Court Building and Ministry of Finance Building, while Cuypers designed Bank Indonesia Museum and Bank Mandiri Museum. At the early 20th century, most of the buildings in the Jakarta were built in Neo Renaissance style of Europe. By the 1920s, the architectural taste have begun to shift in favour of rationalism and modernist movement, particularly there was increasing art deco architecture. The elite suburbs Menteng, developed during the 1910s, was the city’s first attempt at creating an ideal and healthy housing area for the middle class. The original houses had a longitudinal organisation of space, as well as overhanging eaves, large windows and open ventilation, all practical features for a tropical climate with a hint of modern art deco. It was developed by the private real estate company N.V. de Bouwploeg, established by P.A.J. Moojen. After independence, the process of nation building in Indonesia and demolishing the memory of Dutch colonialism was as important as the symbolic building of arterials, monuments, government buildings during the Sukarno era. The National Monument in Jakarta, designed by Sukarno, is Indonesia’s beacon nationalism. In the early 1960s, Jakarta with Soviet Union funding providing infrastructure development for highways and super-scale cultural monuments as well as Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. The parliament building features a hyperbolic shaped roof reminiscent of German rationalist and Corbusian design concepts. In 1996, Wisma 46 soars to height of 262 metres (860 feet) with forty eight stories and its nib shaped top celebrates technology and symbolises stereoscopy. The urban construction booms have continued in the 21st century and are shaping skylines in Jakarta. Golden Triangle of Jakarta is one of the fastest evolving CBD in Asia-Pacific region. According to CTBUH and Emporis, there are 88 skyscrapers that reaches or exceeds the height of 150 metres (490 feet) in Jakarta, which puts the city at the top 10 of world rankings. It has more buildings taller than 500 feet (150 m) than any other Southeast Asia’s cities as well as southern hemisphere.

Most of Jakarta’s landmarks, monuments and statues were built during the Sukarno era beginning in the 1960s, then completed in the Suharto era, while some originated in the colonial Dutch East Indies period. The most famous Jakarta’s landmark that become the symbol of the city is the 132-metre (433-foot) obelisk of National Monument (Monumen Nasional or Monas) right in the centre of Merdeka Square. On its southwest corner stands a Mahabharata themed Arjuna Wijaya chariot statue and fountain. Further south through Jalan M.H. Thamrin, one of the main avenue of Jakarta, the Selamat Datang monument stands on the fountain in the centre of Hotel Indonesia roundabout. Other landmarks include the Istiqlal Mosque, the Jakarta Cathedral and Immanuel Church. The former Batavia Stadhuis, Sunda Kelapa port in Jakarta Old Town is also the city’s landmark. Gama Tower building at Jalan H.R. Rasuna Said, South Jakarta is currently the tallest building in Indonesia. Some of statues and monuments in Jakarta are nationalist, such as the West Irian Liberation monument, Youth statue and Dirgantara statue. Several Indonesian national heroes are commemorated in statues, such as Diponegoro and Kartini statues in Merdeka Square, Sudirman and Thamrin statues located in each respectable avenues, also Sukarno and Hatta statues in Proclamation Monument also on the entrance of Soekarno–Hatta International Airport.

Read more on City of Jakarta, Jakarta Tourism, indonesia-tourism.com – Jakarta, LonelyPlanet.com – Jakarta, Wikivoyage Jakarta and Wikipedia Jakarta (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.