Medan is the capital city of North Sumatera Province with population 2.210.624 in (2015) with the number of women larger than men. Medan is the 3rd largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta and Surabaya. Medan is Metropolis city which has two Airport (Polonia & Kuala namu) and two sea port, such as Belawan & Kuala Tanjung Port. Medan also has one train station which connected some town which close to the Medan and Kuala Namu International Airport.

Medan as an old and historical city has some interesting places to be visited, such as:

1. MAIMOON PALACE, which Built by Sultan Ma’mun Al Rashid Perkasa Alamyah in years 1887–1891, the palace was designed by the Dutch architect Theodoor van Erp and covers 2,772 m² with a total of 30 rooms, not solely because of its historical heritage status, but also because of its unique interior design of the palace, combining elements of Malay cultural heritage, Islamic and Indian architecture, with Spanish and Italian furniture and fittings.
2. Tjong A Fie Mansion. Called “a historical jewel in Medan”, the 35-room, 2-storey Tjong A Fie Mansion was built in 1895 on an area of 8000 sq. meter. It is a registered historical landmark as well as a cultural heritage building and museum. The Mansion has Chinese, Malay and Art Deco influences in its architecture style. The structure was built observing feng-shui principles. The rooms are on four sides of the structures and surround a big open-air courtyard in the middle, signifying the “Well of Heaven”. Tjong A Fie Left His Hometown In China And Travelled To Labuan Deli In The Dutch East Indies To Seek A Better Fortune. This Iconic And Historic Mansion In Medan Was A Gift For His Beloved Wife.
3. Annai Velangkanni Church, which was built with a Hindu architecture by James Bharataputra and assisted by a building construction expert by Johannes Tarigan. It is devoted to Our Lady of Good Health and is also known as Our Lady of Vailankanni. This particular saint knows its origin with an apparition in the 17th century in Velankanni Town, Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is an imposing building, of two storeys and a small tower of seven storeys in Indonesian style.
4. Sri Mariamman Temple, Medan

   Sri Mariamman Temple is Medan’s oldest Hindu Temple. This temple was built in 1884 for the worship of Goddess Mariamman. The temple is situated in the area known as Kampung Madras or Medan’s Little India. This temple is also devoted to the Hindu Gods Ganesha, and Murugan, children of Mariamman. The Gate is decorated by gopuram, namely storey tower which can usually be found at the gate of the Hindus temples in South India. The temple is a meeting point for worshippers during Thaipusam and Deevapali festivals.

   This temple was built by a young Tamil man named Gurdhuara Sahib, who was a worker at a plantation company located in North Sumatra. The temple was also headed by Sami Rangga Naiher, who was also a donor for the construction of this temple.

   The Sri Mariamman temple is located on the street Teuku Umar 18. This temple is located in Kampung Madras which is an area in Medan populated predominantly by Tamil who are Hindus. This temple is adjacent to the Sun plaza. The temple shares the same architecture as other Hindu temples in South India and Sri Lanka, unlike several other Hindu temple in other part of Indonesia that conforms to the Javanese or Balinese-style. The Sri Mariamman temple was inaugurated its use for Hindu Dharma on October 23, 1991, by the ex-Governor of North Sumatra H. Raja Inal Siregar.

   Sri Mariamman temple was named after the goddess Mariamman. According to Hindu belief, Goddess Mariamman is the goddess who is believed to have the power to cure many diseases, relieve mild forms diseases, outbreaks of severe illnesses and can cause it to rain when experiencing drought. The goddess is worshiped in several regions of South India such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Besides being used to worship the Goddess Mariamman, is also used to worship the Hindu gods such as Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva, Lord Durga, Lord Murugan and other gods.

   The temple is surrounded by walls, with the height of 2.5 meters. In the front, there is the entrance to the Temple of Arca Tuwarasakti and reliefs and statue of Lord Shiva above the entrance. Tuwarasakti is described as a woman, because it is the guardian of goddess Mariamman as well. She has a beautiful face, with four arms that carry a trident, mace and pasa and hand attitude counts a warning.

   On the front wall to the right there is a statue of Lakshmi. The statue in the middle, is the statue of the Hindu priest, depicted as wearing a turban, having a thick mustache, as a typology of the Tamil people. On the front wall, in the left, there is a statue of Parvathi. The Parvathi statue is two armed with one hand holding a water pot.

   There are three chambers inside the temple where worship takes places. In the chambers, there are several statues, representing Lord Vishnu, Siva and Brahma. There are many unique ornaments in the temple, including statues that make the temple more beautiful.

   In the inner sanctum:

   • Murugan statue
   • Vishnu statue
   • Child Murugan statue
   • Narayanan statue

   Section to the left there are the sculptures consist of:

   • Vinayagar statue
   • Statue of Brahman, Sivan, Vishnu
   • Agastya statue
   • Statue of Sivan, Parvathi, Nandi

   On the side of behind the temple there are also has statue of:

   • Statue of Krishna
   • Statues of Raja Rajeswari
   • Statue of Thillai Natarajar

5. Great Mosque of Medan

Great Mosque of Medan or Masjid Raya Al Mashun is a mosque located in Medan, Indonesia. The mosque was built in the year 1906 and completed in 1909. In beginning of its establishment, the mosque was a part of the Maimun palace complex. Its architectural style combines Middle Eastern, Indian and Spanish elements. The mosque has an octagonal shape and has wings to the south, east, north and west.

Sultan Ma’mun Al Rashid Perkasa Alam as a leader of Sultanate of Deli started the development of Masjid Al Mashun on 21 August 1906 (1 Rajab 1324 AH). The entire development was completed on 10 September 1909 (25 Sha’ban 1329 AH) and marked by the implementation of the first Friday prayers at the mosque. The overall development budget was one million guilders[citation needed]. The Sultan developed the Mosque according to his principle that it should be more important than his own grand palace, the Maimoon Palace. Construction of the mosque was financed by the Sultanate of Deli, the Deli Maatschappij, and Tjong A Fie, the wealthiest businessman in Medan at that time.

At first, the Mosque was designed by the Dutch architect Theodoor van Erp who also designed The Maimoon Palace, but was then handed over to JA Tingdeman. Van Erp at that time was called to Java by the Dutch government to join in the process of restoring the Borobudur temple in Central Java. The construction required the import of different building materials such as: marble from Italy, Germany and China and the stained glass from the chandelier imported from France.

JA Tingdeman designed the mosque[citation needed] with an octagonal symmetrical layout style, combining elements from Morocco, Europe and the Middle East. The eight square floor plan produced a unique inner chamber, unlike most conventional mosques. A black, high vaulted roof porch is constructed in each of the four corners of the mosque, and complements the main dome on the roof of the main building of the mosque. Each is equipped with a main door and stairs between the courts of the main floor of the mosque is elevated, except building the porch on the side of the mihrab.

The mosque is divided into the main room, ablution, entry gates and towers. The main room, a place of prayer, does not share the same octagonal theme. On the opposite side is smaller, there is a ‘porch’ small porch attached to and protrudes out. The windows surrounding the veranda doors made of wood with glass-precious stained glass, remnants of the art nouveau period 1890-1914, combined with Islamic art. The entire ornamentation in the mosque either in walls, ceilings, pillars, arches and rich surfaces with decorative flowers and plants. in front of each porch stairs there. Then, earlier octagon, on the outside appear with four aisles on all four sides, which surround the main prayer hall.

The aisles have a row of bare windows shaped arches which stand on the beam. Both porch and arched windows of the building design reminiscent of Islamic kingdoms in Spain in the Middle Ages. While the dome of the mosque following the Turkish model, the shape of the octagonal broken. The main dome surrounded by four other domes on top of each porch, with a smaller size. Dome shape is reminiscent of the Grand Mosque of Banda Aceh. On the inside of the mosque, there are eight main pillar diameter of 0.60 m tall to support the main dome in the middle. The mihrab is made of marble with a pointed dome roof. This mosque gate flat-roofed square. While the ornate minaret blend between Egyptian, Iranian and Arabian.

      6. Gunung Timur Temple

Gunung Timur Temple (simplified Chinese: 东岳观; traditional Chinese: 東嶽觀; pinyin: Dōng yuè guān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tông-Yuk-Kuàng) is a Chinese Taoism temple which is the largest in the city of Medan, Indonesia and possibly also on the island of Sumatra. This temple was built in the 1962. This temple is located at Jalan Hang Tuah, about 500 meters from the Sri Mariamman Temple and is located on the side of Babura river.

This temple already served as main temple in Medan for many years and it was also one of Medan’s multicultural icon, as there are an oldest Hindu temple Sri Mariamman temple and also a mosque named Masjid Agung nearby. This temple always be filled with worshippers on Imlek, Cap Go Meh days and Chit Gwee Pua festival.

This temple was founded jointly and cooperation by Taoist and Buddhists community in Medan. Besides being a place of worship for Buddhists, the temple is also famous as a historical site in Medan. Formerly, this building is a land of steep land near the Babura river, in 1960, this temple was begun to be built. At the entrance of the temple, there are two ornate statues of lions and dragons are the hallmark of the Chinese ethnic. When entered into the temple, there is a place for worship, decorated with incense and candles. There is a big drum nearby the praying room, which will be used at the time of the Chinese New Year. At several big day such as Chinese New Year or Cap Go Meh, this temple would be crowded because it is often held a lion dance procession.

The building was designed so that it overlooks the River Babura. The Chinese people are believe, with the design facing the River Babura, it will bring a good luck to the temple and those who visit there.

In addition, the temple is also using a color shades of red and yellow. Both colors are selected as a dominant color because it is regarded as the color of good luck by the Chinese. At the top of the building, there is a decorated of a pair green colored dragon facing each other with the sun in the middle. Behind a dragon statue there also has a pair of giant dragon-headed fish too. Right in front of the temple there are also huge statues of a black and white lion.

It also contains a large paved area with an impressively scaled incense burner, two covered badminton courts, a very large main hall and is partly surrounded by a moat and walls.

HORAS, MEJUAH-JUAH!