Medan is the capital of the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Located in the northern part of the province along the coast, Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia. The city is bordered by Deli Serdang Regency to the east, south, and west, and the Strait of Malacca to the north.
History
Medan started as a village called Kampung Medan (Medan Village). Kampung Medan was founded by Guru Patimpus around the 1590s. Because Kampung Medan sits on Tanah Deli (Land of Deli), Kampung Medan is also referred as Medan-Deli. The original location of Kampung Medan is an area where the Deli River meets Babura River.
Based on the diary of the Portuguese merchant in early 16th century, it stated that the name of Medan was actually derived from Medina which is actually a holy city in the western of Saudi Arabia. However, other source indicated that the name of Medan actually came from Indian language "Meiden". One of the Karo-Indonesia dictionary written by Darwin Prinst SH published in 2002 wrote that Medan could also be defined as "recover" or "be better".
The first inhabitants of Medan came from the Batak Karo community. It was not until the Sultan of Aceh, Sultan Iskandar Muda, sent his warlord, Gocah Pahlawan Laksamana Khoja Bintan, to be the Sultanate of Aceh's representative in Tanah Deli, that the Sultanate of Deli started to grow. This growth stimulated growth in both the population and culture of Medan. In the second year reign of Sultan Deli (between 1669-1698), there was a cavalry battle in Medan.
Medan did not experience significant development until the 1860s, when the Dutch colonialists began clearing the land for tobacco plantations. Medan quickly became a center of government and commercial activity, dominating development of Indonesia's western region.
The Dutch governed Tanah Deli from 1658, after Sultan Ismail, ruler of the Kingdom of Siak Sri Indrapura, yielded some of his once-ruled land, Deli, Langkat, and Serdang. In 1915 Medan officially became the capital of North Sumatra Province, and officially a city in 1918.
Medan is governed by a mayor, Drs. H. Abdillah Ak, MBA (period 2005-2010). Medan is divided into 21 districts (kecamatan) and 151 subdistricts (kelurahan).
Demography
The city is Indonesia's third most populous after Jakarta and Surabaya, with approximately 2.5 million people.
The city has a mix of communities, reflecting its history. It is famous throughout Indonesia as the home of the Batak people, although, traditionally it is a Melayu Kampung. More recently more and more of the Batak ethnic minority have come to the city to make what was once a minority become a fairly sized community. However, Batak homelands are found throughout North Sumatra. In addition, there is a large ethnic Javanese community, largely made up of the descendants of people transported from Java in the last century as part of the government's transmigration policy, an attempt to relieve the chronic overcrowding of Java.
A highly visible component of Medan's population is the large number of Chinese, who are very active in the business sector, and unlike the ethnic Chinese in many other parts of Indonesia continue to speak Hokkien. Finally, the city has a sizable community of Tamil descent who are commonly known as keling. A well-known Tamil neighbourhood is Kampung Keling. In addition to Indonesian, Batak Simalungun, Batak Karo, Batak Mandailing, Batak Pak-Pak, Batak Angkola, Batak Toba, Deli Malay, Javanese, Hokkien (Min Nan), Tamil, Acehnese, Minangkabau and English are spoken.
There are many old buildings in Medan that still retain their Dutch architecture. These include the old City Hall, the central Post Office, the Water Tower, which is Medan City's icon, and Titi Gantung (a bridge over the railway).
There are several historic places such as Maimun Palace (Istana Maimun), where the Sultan of Deli still lives, and the Great Mosque (Masjid Raya) of Medan built in 1906.
Transportation
One of the unique features of Medan are the motorized becaks that are found almost everywhere. Unlike traditional becaks, a motorized becak can take its passenger anywhere in the city. The fare of riding a 'becak' is relatively cheap and is usually negotiated beforehand.
There are also more common transport like taxis and minibuses, known as sudako.
Railroad tracks connect Medan to Binjai and Tanjungpura to the northwest, to port of Belawan to the north, and to Tebing Tinggi and Pematang Siantar to the southeast.
The seaport of Belawan is about 20 km to the north. Polonia International Airport is located in the heart of the city. Kuala Namu International Airport is a new airport under construction and is due to replace Polonia in 2009.
A toll highway connects Medan to Belawan and Tanjungmorawa. A plan for the extension of this highway to Tebing Tinggi and to Binjai has been completed, and the central government is currently seeking investors to build the extension.
History
Medan started as a village called Kampung Medan (Medan Village). Kampung Medan was founded by Guru Patimpus around the 1590s. Because Kampung Medan sits on Tanah Deli (Land of Deli), Kampung Medan is also referred as Medan-Deli. The original location of Kampung Medan is an area where the Deli River meets Babura River.
Based on the diary of the Portuguese merchant in early 16th century, it stated that the name of Medan was actually derived from Medina which is actually a holy city in the western of Saudi Arabia. However, other source indicated that the name of Medan actually came from Indian language "Meiden". One of the Karo-Indonesia dictionary written by Darwin Prinst SH published in 2002 wrote that Medan could also be defined as "recover" or "be better".
The first inhabitants of Medan came from the Batak Karo community. It was not until the Sultan of Aceh, Sultan Iskandar Muda, sent his warlord, Gocah Pahlawan Laksamana Khoja Bintan, to be the Sultanate of Aceh's representative in Tanah Deli, that the Sultanate of Deli started to grow. This growth stimulated growth in both the population and culture of Medan. In the second year reign of Sultan Deli (between 1669-1698), there was a cavalry battle in Medan.
Medan did not experience significant development until the 1860s, when the Dutch colonialists began clearing the land for tobacco plantations. Medan quickly became a center of government and commercial activity, dominating development of Indonesia's western region.
The Dutch governed Tanah Deli from 1658, after Sultan Ismail, ruler of the Kingdom of Siak Sri Indrapura, yielded some of his once-ruled land, Deli, Langkat, and Serdang. In 1915 Medan officially became the capital of North Sumatra Province, and officially a city in 1918.
Medan is governed by a mayor, Drs. H. Abdillah Ak, MBA (period 2005-2010). Medan is divided into 21 districts (kecamatan) and 151 subdistricts (kelurahan).
Demography
The city is Indonesia's third most populous after Jakarta and Surabaya, with approximately 2.5 million people.
The city has a mix of communities, reflecting its history. It is famous throughout Indonesia as the home of the Batak people, although, traditionally it is a Melayu Kampung. More recently more and more of the Batak ethnic minority have come to the city to make what was once a minority become a fairly sized community. However, Batak homelands are found throughout North Sumatra. In addition, there is a large ethnic Javanese community, largely made up of the descendants of people transported from Java in the last century as part of the government's transmigration policy, an attempt to relieve the chronic overcrowding of Java.
A highly visible component of Medan's population is the large number of Chinese, who are very active in the business sector, and unlike the ethnic Chinese in many other parts of Indonesia continue to speak Hokkien. Finally, the city has a sizable community of Tamil descent who are commonly known as keling. A well-known Tamil neighbourhood is Kampung Keling. In addition to Indonesian, Batak Simalungun, Batak Karo, Batak Mandailing, Batak Pak-Pak, Batak Angkola, Batak Toba, Deli Malay, Javanese, Hokkien (Min Nan), Tamil, Acehnese, Minangkabau and English are spoken.
There are many old buildings in Medan that still retain their Dutch architecture. These include the old City Hall, the central Post Office, the Water Tower, which is Medan City's icon, and Titi Gantung (a bridge over the railway).
There are several historic places such as Maimun Palace (Istana Maimun), where the Sultan of Deli still lives, and the Great Mosque (Masjid Raya) of Medan built in 1906.
Transportation
One of the unique features of Medan are the motorized becaks that are found almost everywhere. Unlike traditional becaks, a motorized becak can take its passenger anywhere in the city. The fare of riding a 'becak' is relatively cheap and is usually negotiated beforehand.
There are also more common transport like taxis and minibuses, known as sudako.
Railroad tracks connect Medan to Binjai and Tanjungpura to the northwest, to port of Belawan to the north, and to Tebing Tinggi and Pematang Siantar to the southeast.
The seaport of Belawan is about 20 km to the north. Polonia International Airport is located in the heart of the city. Kuala Namu International Airport is a new airport under construction and is due to replace Polonia in 2009.
A toll highway connects Medan to Belawan and Tanjungmorawa. A plan for the extension of this highway to Tebing Tinggi and to Binjai has been completed, and the central government is currently seeking investors to build the extension.
