Our little group started off the morning with a lovely breakfast at the Tiara Hotel. It was nice but again nothing fantastic. I tried the fried bee hon and it was delicious.
We packed up left our bags for the porters and headed out to the bus and Morris, our local leader. On this particular tour we also had a Canadian Adventures Abroad Tour Leader, Aili. Aili had explained how our day would proceed over breakfast. We were going to do a city tour of Medan, see Maimoon Palace and the Grand Mosque. After that we were going to head northwest up to Lake Toba and Samosir Island.
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| Outside the Tiara Medan Hoel (looking left) -- This is a private home in the upscale area. |
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North Sumatra is a land of great mountains, waterfalls, lakes, a mixture of cultural groups, plantations of rubber, tobacco, palm oil, and coffee.
After breakfast we depart for a brief city tour of Medan. We stop to see the Maimoon Palace, recently renovated from its original founding in 1888 by the Sultan of Deli. We will also stop to visit the Grand Mosque, built in the Moroccan style.
Afterwards we travel southwards by road from Medan to Lake Toba, where we take a ferry across the lake to Samosir Island. At 630 sq km, Samosir is notable as being the largest island within an island, and the fifth largest lake island in the world.
Overnight on Samosir Island
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| Streets of Medan, near the Tiara Medan Hotel, Mosque and Shopping Mall |
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The Mosque near the Tiara Hotel Medan
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We headed off to the
Maimoon Palace or Istana Maimun first. Originally this Palace was built by the Sultan of Deli in 1888. It is absolutely GORGEOUS !! Especially if you have any interest in design or textiles or brilliant colors. The palace is laid out with a center hall banked by a left and right wings. It has been recently renovated a sports the Malay colors of yellow and green.
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| The Grounds of the Maimoon Palace (AKA Maimun Palace or Istana Maimun) |
The palace is located right in downtown Medan, at Jalan Brig. Jend. Katamso. It has brilliant tiling, influences from India, France, Italy and elements of Islamic and Malay culture. The palace has over 30 rooms over two floors. Currently two families, descendents of the Sultan live in the right and left wings. You can see signs of their everyday life all around the palace.
Inside the palace is beautiful with intricate patterns and gorgeous furniture. There is also two small gift shops. The one in the main room has absolutely beautiful brooches. Definately worth a stop.
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| Inside Maimoon Palace |
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| Fabulous Dresser -- Maimoon Palace |
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| Corner Unit -- Maimoon Palace |
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| Ceiling of the Maimoon Palace |
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| The Sultan's Seat -- Maimoon Palace |
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| The Malay colors of the Archways -- Maimoon Palace |
After that we went to the Grand Mosque. It was nice inside but nothing fantastic. The outside though was beautiful. It was situated right in the middle of the city.
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| The Mineret Tower of the Grand Mosque -- Medan |
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| The Fountain -- Grand Mosque, Medan |
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| The Grand Mosque, Medan |
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| The Grand Mosque, Medan |
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| Interior Tiling from the Grand Mosque, Medan |
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| So beautiful -- the intricate design and detail. Grand Mosque, Medan |
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| Grand Mosque, Medan |
The Maimun Palace and the Grand Mosque are historically all part of the same complex. The architect Klingenberg of Amsterdam built the Grand Mosque in 1906 and it has been in use since 1909.
If you would like to visit the Grand Mosque and/or Indonesia then
Quote code AANK for a special discount.
