After visiting the strange-looking Catholic Church we wanted to visit 2 other famous landmarks of Medan: the Istana Maimun and the Masjid Raya. Unfortunately the istana (palace) was closed already, so we were only able to see the Masjid Raya or Great Mosque. Pictures of the beautiful mosque after the jump.
Istana Maimun (Maimun Palace)
FYI: it is only open from 8am – 5pm, but closed on weekends and holidays. Click here to read more about Istana Maimun. Since it was drizzling, I didn’t even get the chance to take a picture of the palace, because I would need to take it from very far away since it’s quite massive.
Masjid Raya (Great Mosque)
One of the landmarks is the Masjid Raya or the Great Mosque . It was built in 1906 in the Moroccan style by the Dutch architect Dingemans. Women must be dressed appropriately (no legs and hair covered), but if you are not, don’t worry they have sarongs & head scarves for rent at IDR 5,000 per person. Even men who are wearing shorts must rent a sarong.
The entrance is on the side of a really busy intersection. Beggars and vendors line the gate.
Renting sarongs. My friend was smart enough to bring her own scarf – which I strongly suggest if you are not comfortable sharing headgear with the rest of the “tourists” =P (See @OCmominmanila I am not that OC! LOL!)
In general, Medan isn’t really a tourist destination, but it’s a convenient stepping stone to other places like the ‘weekend getaway’ Brastagi, Gunung Leuser National Park at Bukit Lawang, and beautiful crater Lake Toba. But we were happy to find that there are some interesting places to see. I hope you enjoyed my pictures!
Sorry if there are many typos. I am so sleepy already and been so busy the past week! Good night!
[…] seeing the Catholic Church and the Great Mosque we were ravenous. We asked the driver where we could buy delicious (enak) pork or babi as they […]