Medan
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 sources indicated that the name of Medan actually came from Indian Hindi language word "Maidan" meaning "ground" or "land". 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 1st inhabitants of Medan came from the Malays of the Malay Peninsula, the Mandailings from the South Tapanuli Regency and the Karonese who originated from the Karo Highlands. It wasn't 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 2nd year reign of Sultan Deli, there was a cavalry battle in Medan.Medan didn't 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 Siak Sultanate, 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.
Currently much of Medans historic architecture from the colonial era is rapidly being demolished to make way for modern buildings.
From 2005 Medan was governed by a mayor, Dr. H. Abdillah Ak, MBA. However, Abdillah and his vice mayor were caught by Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission officials in 2008. Syamsul Arifin, the Governor of North Sumatra Province, then appointed Affifudin Lubis to become the acting mayor. In 2009, Affifudin Lubis resigned as mayor, and the Governor then appointed Rahudman Harahap to become the mayor. Because Rahudman wanted to be a candidate in the 2010 mayor election, he resigned as mayor. Then Syamsul Arifin himself became the acting mayor. In the 2010 mayor election, Rahudman Harahap was elected mayor.
The city is Indonesia's 4th most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang Regency. The official Metropolitan area contained 4,144,583 inhabitants in 2010.
The city has diverse communities, reflecting its history. However, The Mandailings also live here in big numbers and working at the most strategic government position. In addition, there is a large ethnic Javanese community, largely composed of the descendants of people transported from Java in the last century to be employed as contract workers at various plantations in North Sumatra. They are usually known as Jadel or Jakon (Jawa Kontrak/Contract Javanese), and, with other Javanese communities in Sumatra, Pujakesuma (Putra Jawa Kelahiran Sumatera/Sumatra-born Javanese). Their presence in Medan can be marked from various Javanese toponymies in Medan, such as Harjosari, Sarirejo, Sidodadi, Sidomulyo, Sidorame, Sidorejo, Sitirejo, Sudirejo, Tanjungrejo, Tanjungsari, Tegalrejo, Tegalsari, etc.
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, they continue to speak Hokkien. The city also host a sizable community of Tamil descendants who are commonly known as keling. A well-known Tamil neighbourhood is Kampung Keling. In addition to Indonesian, Malay, Mandailing, Minangkabau, Karo, Javanese, Hokkien, Tamil, Aceh, 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 Tirtanadi Water Tower, which is Medan City's icon, and Titi Gantung.
There are several historic places such as Maimun Palace built in years 1887â€"1891, where the Sultan of Deli still lives (the Sultan no longer holds any official power), and the Great Mosque (Masjid Raya) of Medan built in 1906 in the Moroccan style by the Dutch architect A.J. Dingemans.
Since 2005, a catholic temple, in Indo-Mogul style, devoted to Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni, is built in Medan. This particular Saint knows its origin with an apparition in the 17th century in India. The temple is an important building, of two stories and a small tower of seven storeys in Indonesian style, that already attracts attention from the main road (it is situated in the small road Jl. Sakura III except Jl. TB Simatupang). It is already the 2nd most important pilgrimage place in Asia.
One of the unique features of Medan are the motorized pedicab 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 low and is usually negotiated beforehand.
| There are also more taxis and minibuses, known as | common means of transport like sudako. |
A toll highway connects Medan to Belawan and Tanjungmorawa. A plan for the extension of this highway to Kuala Namu International Airport, Tebing Tinggi and to Binjai has been completed, and the central government is currently seeking investors to build the extension.
The TVRI Medan and Deli TV (private) are the two local television stations in Medan. Several local newspapers are running in the city with Harian Mimbar Umum as the oldest one. Other popular newspapers include Harian Waspada, Harian Analisa, Berita Sore, Harian Global, Harian Medan Bisnis, Posmetro Medan, Suara Indonesia Baru, dan "Tribun Medan".
Related Sites for Medan
- Medan Tourism and Vacations: 23 Things to Do in Medan, … read Medan
- Kota Medan Guide to Sumatra Indonesia read Medan
- Medan: City Guide, weather and facts galore from Answers.com read Medan
- Yahoo! Travel - Medan, Indonesia Vacations, Tourism, Guides ... read Medan
