tourist

The Gigir Manuk Cultural Dialogue in cooperation with the Indonesian Department of Culture and Tourism, the Bali Tourism Authority and the Bali Tourism Board are conducting a road tour of Balinese Art & Culture to Europe from November 11-27, 2006.

Land Under the Rainbow

The cultural program, entitled "Land Under the Rainbow", will form the backdrop for a series of cocktail receptions hosted for the international travel industry, during which art & cultural performances by the renowned Bajra Sandhi Group will be presented during visits to the following European cities:

1. Brussels and Antwerp,
2. Belgium Den Haag, The Netherlands
3. Luxemburg
4. Paris, France
5. Aachen, Germany

Bajra Sandhi Performance Troupe

Founded in 1991, the Sanggar Seni Kreativitas Bajra Sandhi, more commonly known as Bajra Sandhi, is a group of Balinese artists who emphasize the spiritual connection between God and the arts. Striving for purity, truth and beauty through the arts - the troupe is comprised of 14 performers who alternate roles as dancers, musicians or singers " depending on the number being presented.

Past performance have brought the group to Athens, Greece where they performed in events paralleling the opening of the 2004 Olympic Games; to Hanoi where they helped celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Vietnam; and to numerous performance venues across Indonesia.

Among the highlights of the coming European tour, the group will present:

1. Gender Wayang - Music normally reserved as the accompaniment of a shadow puppet performance or for performance at a Balinese rites of passage - the Gender is based on a technically demanding rhythm motif, blending intertwined melodies with lively contrapuntal movements. Resonations created give a shimmering and vibrating quality, extremely rich in overtones, emanating from bronze keys struck with bare wooden mallets utilizing the pentatonic 'Slendro' tuning.
2. Baris Tunggal Dance - Inspired from the original Baris "Warrior" Dance, the name of this dance derives from the word "baris" meaning rows but also meaning troops of soldiers. With its recent development into a solo performance, the dance now describes the strength and grace of heroic movements of a soldier marching off to war.
3. Legong Keraton Dance - By legend, the Legong is the heavenly dance of divine nymphs. Of all classical Balinese dances, it remains the quintessence of femininity and grace. Girls from the age of five aspire to be selected to represent their community as Legong dancers. Foremost among the Legong repertoire is the Legong Kraton - formerly reserved for presentation only at Bali's royal courts. Highly stylized, the palace version of the dance enacts a drama performed by three dancers: the 'condong' - a female attendant of the court, and two identically dressed Legong dancers who adopt the roles of royal persons.
4. Jauk Dance - Taken from Bali's rich tradition of masked dance, the Jauk depicts a crooked and wicked giant king.
5. Sutasoma - A Balinese tari drama or dance-drama, the Sutasoma tells the story of the birth of Jinapati " the pure soul that arrives on earth with the birth of each newborn baby. Deriving his power from wisdom and peace, Sutasoma defeats the evil giant Purusadha through goodness and enlightenment.

If the wild is well and truly calling you then make sure you put Bukit Lawang on your itinerary. This once sleepy town in Northern Sumatra is now home to the famous Orangg Utan Centre that was created to aid primates in their readjustment back into the wild. As a visitor you are allowed to witness the amazing creatures at feeding time. Once the milk and bananas are out you can see them swing into action from limb to limb to get their grub. It is a truly privileged place to be. The only hours visitors are welcome are between 8 and 9 am and 3-4 p.m., otherwise the orangatanngs home is off limits. Remember you have to get a permit if you wish to visit the centre.


Bukit Lewang is a charming tourist town on the edge of the huge Gungung Leuser National Park. Many people to visit Sungai Bohorok tube to go to the river. Other visit to go on hikes in the lush jungle of primary rainforest. Most visitors come to Bukit Lawang, however, see the orange men of the forest - the Orang-utan!

Spend some days in Bukit Lawang, and enjoy the orang-utans, the river and the rainforest.

Orang-utan is Indonesian for "Men of the Forest". These fascinating creatures belong to the Great Apes family (along with the chimpanzee and the gorilla), which is man's closest relative. They evolved from the same evolutionary tree as man, and studying them helps us to understand our own origin.

Mirror beach or in local language Pantai Cermin is located in Serdang Bedagai Regency.
It's a nice place to swim, sun bathing and fishing. It's one of eastern beaches in Indonesia. Unlike the western beaches, Mirror beach has a calm wave so it's not an appropriate place to surf. The local government has developed the beach to contribute another good object tourism of North Sumatera. The sand of the beach is white like a glass, therefore they called the beach by the name "cermin" means Mirror.

Beside the Maimoon Palace, The Medan Grand Mosque was another architectural heritage of Deli Sultanate. the mosque is still utilized by the local community for daily prayers. Like The Maimoon Palace, the building materials of the mosque were taken from Italy. The Grand Mosque which was built in 1906 by Sultan Makmun Al-Rasyid is the most beautiful and magnificence mosques in North Sumatera. It is situated about 200 m from The Maimoon Palace.


The specific architecture of the mosque was inspired by the Moorish style.The dome of the Al Ma'sum Mosque that had flat and quadrangle shape also in the peak of the roof has the usual crescent moon decoration was also found in other Islamic buildings like the Mosque and the tower that according to the experts often were connected as the symbol of peacefulness, where Islam was broadcasted without violence.


Apart from the plan, dome, curves (arcade), the crescent moon decoration on its peak, the influence of Islamic art is clearly visible in its Ornamentation, whether on the wall, the ceiling, the poles, and the curved surface (face Arcade) that was rich in the decoration of flowers and winding plants painted with oil paint. This floralistic decoration apart from being styled reminds to the Tumpal and mekara motive, also painted with Naturalistic style. Except the floral motive and geometric motive, the combination between Polygonal, Octagonal and circle decorations was also appealing. The motive of this kind especially very much found in walls, the curved surface, the ceiling etc. This motive was also found in the iron curtain form of the quadrangle windows and the shape of the curve that reminded us to motive the Indian style wall carving. In Indonesia, this kind of decoration was often acknowledged as the Terawangan or Kerawangan decoration,apart as being a decoration, this decoration also unction as ventilation.

The palace was built by Sultan Makmun Al-Rasyid Perkasa Alamsyah.
It was constructed by the design of an Italian architect in 1888 AD.
As a legacy of Melayu-Deli Sultanate,it is dominated with yellow color, the Melayu typical color.The Maimoon Palace was built on a land of 2.772 m2 wide in the centre of the Deli kingdom, now Brigjen Katamso street, Medan.


This palace consisted of two floors that were divided into three parts, which are the main building, the left wing, and the right wing. In the front, around 100 meters, stood the Al-Maksum mosque that are well known as the Masjid Raya Medan. In the guest room (balairung) you will encounter the throne that was dominated by the yellow color. Crystal lights lighted the throne, a form of influence of European culture. The same influences are appeared in the palace furnishings like the seat, the table, toilet and the cupboard and the door, headed to balairung. The room measuring 412 m2 was used for the coronation agenda of Sultan Deli or the other traditional agenda. Balairung was also used as the place where the Sultan received praise from his relatives and family in Islamic holidays.


Further more, the number of the rooms was 40, 20 rooms in the upper floor, the Sultan's throne and 20 rooms underneath, not including 4 bathrooms, the warehouse, the kitchen, and the prison in the basement.
Interesting if we observe this palace architectural design. The blend between the Islam tradition and European culture was boldly implemented. Apart from the balairung, the building base also showed Europe influence. Some of the building material was imported from Europe, like floor tiles, marble, and terrazzo.

The pattern of Dutch architecture with the door and wide and tall windows, as well as Spanish stylish doors became a part of the Maimoon Palace. The Dutch influence was also seen in the marble inscription in front of the marble ladder that was written with the Latin letter in Netherlands language.

The Islam influence was seen in the form of the curve or arcade in several parts of the palace roof. The curve that had the shape of the overturn boat that was known with the Persian Curve, often was met on the buildings in the Middle East, Turkey, and India region.


The Maimoon palace was one of the most beautiful buildings in Medan. His location is easy to be reach, both from the Polonia Airport (around 10 km) and the Belawan Port (around 28 km). This historic building was open the public every day from struck 08.00 until 17.00.

Lake Toba is the most interesting tourist object in the Province of North Sumatera, Indonesia. It is as the largest inland lake in South-East Asia and one of the deepest in the world [ more than 500 metres]. Lake Toba has a length that spans 100 kilometres from Northwest to South and a width of 30 kilometres. Water surface of Lake Toba is around 900 meter of sea level. It’s surrounded by Mount Piso-Piso on the north and Mount Pusuk Bukit on the west.

Parapat, the town in the coast of the lake has many hotels and restaurants which provide good food. But the last five years the number of the tourist decreases which caused some of the hotels closed down, either temporary or for good. Most tourists are local or from neighboring countries. The tourists normally pass through on their way to Samosir Island in Lake Toba. The town offers scenic surroundings, good eating, and souvenir shopping.

Parapat can be reached within 4 hours ride from Medan, the capital city of North Sumatra. There are many souvenir shops along the road down to the market.You can find T-shirts, ceramics, cheap clothes and various souvenirs, the most popular is local made woven blankets called ‘Ulos’.

Samosir Island is accessible by ferry from Ajibata or Parapat. One of the main inhabited areas in the island is Tuktuk. This popular destination offers scenic views at very low prices. People come here to relax, enjoy the sceneries, eat well and cool down from tougher in other areas.
The culture of the local can be seen in the daily life of the villages in Samosir. Western tunes have replaced the harmonic popular songs of the wrll-singing Bataks. In Tomok 200- year old stone sarcophogus of King Sidabutar built in the shape of ship is its most famous sight. It is located a short walk away from the lake. Tomok is also known for Sigale-gale dance.