Medan Today
As the capital of North Sumatra, Medan has a very strategic position. There are consulates of foreign countries and it is the primary center of activities of northern Sumatra.
Geographically, Medan is located at 3o30' — 3o43' Northern Latitude and 98o35' — 98o44' Eastern Longitude, with a north-ward sloping topography and it lies at 2,5 - 37,5 meters above sea level.
Based on Decree of the Governor, Head of First Level Region of Northern Sumatra no 140.22/2772.K/1996 dated 30 September 1996, administratively the City of Medan is divided into 21 districts which cover 151 villages.
The development of the City of Medan is focused on becoming the center of governmental administration, industry, distribution of goods, financial service, communication, accommodation, tourism service and regional as well as international trade.
Medan History
In the Malay language "Medan" means a large place to gather. Since long ago Medan has been a meeting place for people who come from Hamparan Perak, Stabat, Suka Piring and other places. They came for trading, gambling and so forth.
When it was founded in 1590, Medan was just a small village called Medan Putri, which was built by Guru Patimpus, a descendant of Raja Singa Mahraja, who governed Negeri Bakerah in the Highlands of Karo. Around the 17th century Aceh and Deli Land competed to acquire this land. Due to its strategic location, which is on the meeting point of the rivers Deli and Babura - both formed a busy trading traffic route - Medan Putri quickly flourished into transit port for traders who come from all over the world.
John Anderson, a British government employee based in Penang, who visited Medan in 1823, wrote in his book, Mission to The East Coast of Sumatera, Edinburgh edition, 1826, that Medan was still a small village with population of around 200.
The development of Medan took a swift pace with the opening of tobacco plantation. According to Tengku Lukman Sinar, SH in his book "Sejarah Medan Tempo Doeloe" (2001) an Arabian to Surabaya, Said Abdullah Bilsagih who became an in-law of Sultan Mahmud Perkasa Alam Deli, took several Dutch traders from Java to plant tobacco in Deli. They were J. Nienhuys, Van Der Falk and Elliot, who came to Deli in 7 July 1863. The Sultan of Deli gave them 4000-bahu of land near labuhan (Cape Sepassai) as 20 years of right to operate on (erfpacht).
In March 1864 the harvested tobacco was shipped to Rotterdam, Holland. Deli tobacco was well received for its good quality for cigar wrapper. This success encouraged J. Nienhuys in 1869, to open new lands for tobacco plantation in Martubung, Sunggal, Sungai Beras and Klumpang. The labors for these tobacco plantations were generally Chinese who were sent for from Swalow (Tiongkok), Singapore, Malaya and Tamil (Keling) who were sent for from India via Penang.
When the rulers in China made it more difficult for Chinese workers to come to Deli and the British administrator in India began to require stricter conditions for Keling workers, the Dutch tobacco industrialists started to think of taking contract labors from Java. The first wave of workers from Java consisted of 150 contract labors from Bagelen.
The population of Chinese in Labuhan in 1867 had reached 1000. On the other hand, inland comers such as the Javanese or Minangkabau people were only 474. While the Malay and Karo people were thought of as being defiant to the Dutch, so they couldn't be employed as plantation workers.
As the tobacco business expanded and grew, J Nienhuys, Jansen and P.W. Clemen relocated their company's office of De Deli Maatschappij, from Labuhan to the village of "Medan Putri." Ever since then, the village of "Medan Putri" grew busier and became more known as the City of Medan.
Medan Unique
Becak Medan (Trishaw)
Becak is one of Transportation means in Medan. Some becaks are pedaled, while others have machine propellers. Both ways, the becaks of Medan have unique appeals to tourist.
Third Biggest City
Medan as the capital city of North Sumatra is the third biggest city in Indonesia after Jakarta (capital city of Indonesia) and Surabaya (capital city of East Java).
Parijs Van Sumatra
Along the street of Ahmad Yani (Kesawan) is fulfilled by heritage buildings. In the past, City of Medan especially Kesawan had called as Parijs Van Sumatera.
Maimoen Palace
Most well-known landmark at city of Medan. The building was complited in 18 May 1891 and used as the palace of Kesultanan (King) of Deli, Sultan Ma'mun Al Rasyid Perkasa Alamsyah.
Reservoir Tower
A large water tank, was built in 1908 by a private Dutch enterprise. “Ajer Bersih”. This company started operating in 1883, flowed drinking water from Sunggal and Karo Land to the population of Medan.
Fast Facts About Medan City
City name
Medan (Means:large place to gather)
Area
265.10 sq km
Population
1,979,340 (2003)
Administration
City of Medan is divided into 21 districts which cover 151 villages.
Geographical Location
Medan located between 3o30' — 3o43' Northern Latitude and 98o35' — 98o44' Eastern Longitude, with a north-ward sloping topography and it lies at 2,5 - 37,5 meters above sea level.
Provincy
North Sumatera
Country
Republic of Indonesia
People
The population of Medan is consisting of diverse ethnic groups: Malay, Java, Batak, Chinese, Aceh, Minangkabau, Tamil, etc. Each ethnic group has its own cultural patterns and different social structures.
Language
Bahasa Indonesia is the national language but English, Mandarin and Hokkian are widely spoken. The ethnic groups also speak various languages and dialects.
Climate
Tropical climate with warm weather all year round. Temperatures in the lowlands range from 21ºC (70ºF) to 32ºC (90ºF). The highlands are cooler, where temperatures range between 15°C (59° F) to 25°C (77°F). Annual rainfall varies from 1,000mm to 4,000mm.
Currency
The unit of currency is Indonesia Rupiah indicated as IDR. USD1 is roughly equivalent to IDR 11.500,-. Foreign currency can be converted at banks and money changers.
Banking Hours
Mon - Fri: 9.00am to 4.30pm.
Sat & Sun: Closed (Selected banks and branches are open on Sat).
Business Hours
Business offices are usually open either from 8.00 am - 4.00 pm or 9.00 am - 5.00 pm, with a break for lunch between 12.00 noon and 1.00 pm. But on Saturday many business offices are closed.
Government office hours are from 8.00 am - 4.00 pm from Monday to Friday, Saturday many government offices are closed.
Post Offices
Open from 8.00am to 4.00pm daily except Sundays and public holidays.
Time
Seven hours ahead of GMT and 16 hours ahead of U.S. Pacific Standard Time.
Major Holidays
New Year's Day, Hari Raya Aidiladha, Chinese New Year, Awal Muharam, Saka New Year, Birthday of Prophet Muhammad, Easter Day, Vesak Day, Independence Day, Isra' Miraj, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Christmas.
Electricity
Voltage is 220 – 240 volts AC at 50 cycles per second.
Voltage 110 – 130 volts AC are still use.
Weights and Measures
Indonesia follows the metric system in weights and measures.
Telephone
Medan phone code: 061
Indonesia phone code: 62 or +62
Accommodation
The city of Medan is the center of accomodation and tourism service in North Sumatra. There are 160 hotels of various types and classes, from simple lodges to five-star hotels.
North Sumatra
Northern Sumatera, with it's colorfull and ethnically mixed population, is after Java, the most crowded province in lndonesia. Currently it has over 11 milion inhabitants and that overshoots Kalimantan or Nusa Tenggara. Dynamic Batak, Malay, Javanese, Indians, Acehnese and Chinese created a big variety of modern and traditional Indonesian culture.
The economy, which has been based on plantation for a long time, has now been expanded with the big Asahan aluminium project and multiple service-companies, and belongs to the strongest in the country. Tourism thrives mainly on the picturesque beauty of Lake Toba and the Karo highlands, and it just being overshadowed by Bali and Yogyakarta.
The province has two important ecological zones - a fertile, swampy plain in the east with mainly plantations, and a central vulcanic chain of mountains (Bukit Barisan) which was formed 70 milion years ago by tectonical movements. The western part does also has a small coastal plain and a chain of low-populated islands at the coast, of which Nias is the most known.
The proud of North Sumatra is Lake Toba, which was formed about 75,000 years ago during one of the most powerfull vulcanic eruptions known to human kind; a tremendous disaster, which caused a layer of ashes of 600 metres to fall down. About 30,000 years ago, a new series of explosions formed a new vulcano inside the old one. The hole that was formed by these explosions nowadays measures 120 by 45 kilometres. To compare: the famous eruption of Mount St. Helens (1980) left a crater of only 2 sq.km.
The explosion caused the area around Lake Toba to become an ecological border. Spiecies like Orang-Utan, other Monkeys and 17 kinds of Birds can only be found north of this area, while the Tapit and others including 10 kinds of Birds can only be found south of the border. Probably a big desolated area remained after the eruption, in which not many animals could live, or could cross.
The Batak, now one of the biggest populations in lndonesia, arrived in the highlands about 3 to 4 thousand years ago from the Phillippines and Borneo. About probable earlier inhabitants, nothing is known. Following Toba legends Si Raja Batak was the mythical ancestor of all Batak people, he descended on Pusuk Buhit Mount (1981 metres), a vulcano on the western banks of Lake Toba. Nowadays there are six groups of Batak living around Lake Toba, who distunguish themselves with their languages and habits. Their habitational areas border each other.
Source : http://www.kotamedan.com
As the capital of North Sumatra, Medan has a very strategic position. There are consulates of foreign countries and it is the primary center of activities of northern Sumatra.
Geographically, Medan is located at 3o30' — 3o43' Northern Latitude and 98o35' — 98o44' Eastern Longitude, with a north-ward sloping topography and it lies at 2,5 - 37,5 meters above sea level.
Based on Decree of the Governor, Head of First Level Region of Northern Sumatra no 140.22/2772.K/1996 dated 30 September 1996, administratively the City of Medan is divided into 21 districts which cover 151 villages.
The development of the City of Medan is focused on becoming the center of governmental administration, industry, distribution of goods, financial service, communication, accommodation, tourism service and regional as well as international trade.
Medan History
In the Malay language "Medan" means a large place to gather. Since long ago Medan has been a meeting place for people who come from Hamparan Perak, Stabat, Suka Piring and other places. They came for trading, gambling and so forth.
When it was founded in 1590, Medan was just a small village called Medan Putri, which was built by Guru Patimpus, a descendant of Raja Singa Mahraja, who governed Negeri Bakerah in the Highlands of Karo. Around the 17th century Aceh and Deli Land competed to acquire this land. Due to its strategic location, which is on the meeting point of the rivers Deli and Babura - both formed a busy trading traffic route - Medan Putri quickly flourished into transit port for traders who come from all over the world.
John Anderson, a British government employee based in Penang, who visited Medan in 1823, wrote in his book, Mission to The East Coast of Sumatera, Edinburgh edition, 1826, that Medan was still a small village with population of around 200.
The development of Medan took a swift pace with the opening of tobacco plantation. According to Tengku Lukman Sinar, SH in his book "Sejarah Medan Tempo Doeloe" (2001) an Arabian to Surabaya, Said Abdullah Bilsagih who became an in-law of Sultan Mahmud Perkasa Alam Deli, took several Dutch traders from Java to plant tobacco in Deli. They were J. Nienhuys, Van Der Falk and Elliot, who came to Deli in 7 July 1863. The Sultan of Deli gave them 4000-bahu of land near labuhan (Cape Sepassai) as 20 years of right to operate on (erfpacht).
In March 1864 the harvested tobacco was shipped to Rotterdam, Holland. Deli tobacco was well received for its good quality for cigar wrapper. This success encouraged J. Nienhuys in 1869, to open new lands for tobacco plantation in Martubung, Sunggal, Sungai Beras and Klumpang. The labors for these tobacco plantations were generally Chinese who were sent for from Swalow (Tiongkok), Singapore, Malaya and Tamil (Keling) who were sent for from India via Penang.
When the rulers in China made it more difficult for Chinese workers to come to Deli and the British administrator in India began to require stricter conditions for Keling workers, the Dutch tobacco industrialists started to think of taking contract labors from Java. The first wave of workers from Java consisted of 150 contract labors from Bagelen.
The population of Chinese in Labuhan in 1867 had reached 1000. On the other hand, inland comers such as the Javanese or Minangkabau people were only 474. While the Malay and Karo people were thought of as being defiant to the Dutch, so they couldn't be employed as plantation workers.
As the tobacco business expanded and grew, J Nienhuys, Jansen and P.W. Clemen relocated their company's office of De Deli Maatschappij, from Labuhan to the village of "Medan Putri." Ever since then, the village of "Medan Putri" grew busier and became more known as the City of Medan.
Medan Unique
Becak Medan (Trishaw)
Becak is one of Transportation means in Medan. Some becaks are pedaled, while others have machine propellers. Both ways, the becaks of Medan have unique appeals to tourist.
Third Biggest City
Medan as the capital city of North Sumatra is the third biggest city in Indonesia after Jakarta (capital city of Indonesia) and Surabaya (capital city of East Java).
Parijs Van Sumatra
Along the street of Ahmad Yani (Kesawan) is fulfilled by heritage buildings. In the past, City of Medan especially Kesawan had called as Parijs Van Sumatera.
Maimoen Palace
Most well-known landmark at city of Medan. The building was complited in 18 May 1891 and used as the palace of Kesultanan (King) of Deli, Sultan Ma'mun Al Rasyid Perkasa Alamsyah.
Reservoir Tower
A large water tank, was built in 1908 by a private Dutch enterprise. “Ajer Bersih”. This company started operating in 1883, flowed drinking water from Sunggal and Karo Land to the population of Medan.
Fast Facts About Medan City
City name
Medan (Means:large place to gather)
Area
265.10 sq km
Population
1,979,340 (2003)
Administration
City of Medan is divided into 21 districts which cover 151 villages.
Geographical Location
Medan located between 3o30' — 3o43' Northern Latitude and 98o35' — 98o44' Eastern Longitude, with a north-ward sloping topography and it lies at 2,5 - 37,5 meters above sea level.
Provincy
North Sumatera
Country
Republic of Indonesia
People
The population of Medan is consisting of diverse ethnic groups: Malay, Java, Batak, Chinese, Aceh, Minangkabau, Tamil, etc. Each ethnic group has its own cultural patterns and different social structures.
Language
Bahasa Indonesia is the national language but English, Mandarin and Hokkian are widely spoken. The ethnic groups also speak various languages and dialects.
Climate
Tropical climate with warm weather all year round. Temperatures in the lowlands range from 21ºC (70ºF) to 32ºC (90ºF). The highlands are cooler, where temperatures range between 15°C (59° F) to 25°C (77°F). Annual rainfall varies from 1,000mm to 4,000mm.
Currency
The unit of currency is Indonesia Rupiah indicated as IDR. USD1 is roughly equivalent to IDR 11.500,-. Foreign currency can be converted at banks and money changers.
Banking Hours
Mon - Fri: 9.00am to 4.30pm.
Sat & Sun: Closed (Selected banks and branches are open on Sat).
Business Hours
Business offices are usually open either from 8.00 am - 4.00 pm or 9.00 am - 5.00 pm, with a break for lunch between 12.00 noon and 1.00 pm. But on Saturday many business offices are closed.
Government office hours are from 8.00 am - 4.00 pm from Monday to Friday, Saturday many government offices are closed.
Post Offices
Open from 8.00am to 4.00pm daily except Sundays and public holidays.
Time
Seven hours ahead of GMT and 16 hours ahead of U.S. Pacific Standard Time.
Major Holidays
New Year's Day, Hari Raya Aidiladha, Chinese New Year, Awal Muharam, Saka New Year, Birthday of Prophet Muhammad, Easter Day, Vesak Day, Independence Day, Isra' Miraj, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Christmas.
Electricity
Voltage is 220 – 240 volts AC at 50 cycles per second.
Voltage 110 – 130 volts AC are still use.
Weights and Measures
Indonesia follows the metric system in weights and measures.
Telephone
Medan phone code: 061
Indonesia phone code: 62 or +62
Accommodation
The city of Medan is the center of accomodation and tourism service in North Sumatra. There are 160 hotels of various types and classes, from simple lodges to five-star hotels.
North Sumatra
Northern Sumatera, with it's colorfull and ethnically mixed population, is after Java, the most crowded province in lndonesia. Currently it has over 11 milion inhabitants and that overshoots Kalimantan or Nusa Tenggara. Dynamic Batak, Malay, Javanese, Indians, Acehnese and Chinese created a big variety of modern and traditional Indonesian culture.
The economy, which has been based on plantation for a long time, has now been expanded with the big Asahan aluminium project and multiple service-companies, and belongs to the strongest in the country. Tourism thrives mainly on the picturesque beauty of Lake Toba and the Karo highlands, and it just being overshadowed by Bali and Yogyakarta.
The province has two important ecological zones - a fertile, swampy plain in the east with mainly plantations, and a central vulcanic chain of mountains (Bukit Barisan) which was formed 70 milion years ago by tectonical movements. The western part does also has a small coastal plain and a chain of low-populated islands at the coast, of which Nias is the most known.
The proud of North Sumatra is Lake Toba, which was formed about 75,000 years ago during one of the most powerfull vulcanic eruptions known to human kind; a tremendous disaster, which caused a layer of ashes of 600 metres to fall down. About 30,000 years ago, a new series of explosions formed a new vulcano inside the old one. The hole that was formed by these explosions nowadays measures 120 by 45 kilometres. To compare: the famous eruption of Mount St. Helens (1980) left a crater of only 2 sq.km.
The explosion caused the area around Lake Toba to become an ecological border. Spiecies like Orang-Utan, other Monkeys and 17 kinds of Birds can only be found north of this area, while the Tapit and others including 10 kinds of Birds can only be found south of the border. Probably a big desolated area remained after the eruption, in which not many animals could live, or could cross.
The Batak, now one of the biggest populations in lndonesia, arrived in the highlands about 3 to 4 thousand years ago from the Phillippines and Borneo. About probable earlier inhabitants, nothing is known. Following Toba legends Si Raja Batak was the mythical ancestor of all Batak people, he descended on Pusuk Buhit Mount (1981 metres), a vulcano on the western banks of Lake Toba. Nowadays there are six groups of Batak living around Lake Toba, who distunguish themselves with their languages and habits. Their habitational areas border each other.
Source : http://www.kotamedan.com
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