Medan, Capital and Attractive Tourist Destination in North Sumatra, Indonesia

From just a mini village has a population of no more than 200 inhabitants in 1833, Medan "swell" into a metropolitan city with an area of ​​265.10 km² and a population of 2,109,339. As the largest city on Sumatra island, the physical appearance of Medan's urban infrastructure and socio-economic life quite representative, as evidenced by the presence of a number of skyscrapper office buildings, towering hotels such as JW Marriott, Garuda Plaza, and Grand Swiss Belhotel, college campuses, and modern shopping centers.

In addition, its geographical position as a gateway to the Malacca Strait through Belawan Port in the north and the access of agricultural, horticultural and forestry of the surrounding areas such as the Deli Serdang, Binjai, Labuhan Batu, Tapanuli, Mandailing Natal, Tanah Karo and Simalungun helped make Medan center of economic growth of North Sumatra.

In Medan, Javanese descent population have the largest number (33.03%), followed by Batak ethnic (combination of any sub ethnics like Toba, Pakpak, Simalungun, and Nias) as much as 20.93%. Chinese descent was third in population, about 10.65%, followed by Mandailing, Minangkabau, Malay, Karo, Aceh, and others (data taken from statistical agency, North Sumatra in 2000).

Medan also home to descendants of Indian Tamil communities in a significant number, which is reside concentrated in the area around Zainul Arifin street (located in the District of Medan Polonia and Petisah) called Kampung Madras, but more popularly known as "Kampung Keling".

Compared to other multiethnic cities which often have social problems with ethnic differences, In Medan ethnic diversity did not appear to be factors that disrupt the interaction. Contrarily, the difference just melt them in a unique acculturation pattern that unites their identity, with collective pride as "Anak Medan" (Medan Boy). "Anak Medan" describes egalitarian and solidarity among people of Medan.

One area that should not be overlooked when you visit Medan City is Kesawan old town area. It is Medan's old town area (from 18th to 19th Century) located in West Medan District. Kesawan famous for the presence of many historical buildings that lined up along Jalan Ahmad Yani, the oldest street in Medan City.

Most of the heritage European and the Far East style buildings in Kesawan well cared and are still functional. For instance, Harrison & Crossfield building that is now used as the headquarters of the plantation company PT. PP London Sumatra (Lonsum), South East Asia Bank Building, the office The Netherlands Shipping Company which now transformed into the office of Jakarta Lloyd, Tip-Top Cafe, a 19th Century, old-fashioned cafe that is still serving customers, and the famous Tjong A Fie mansion - a traditional Chinese-style mansion. Tjong A Fie was Sumatra plantation conglomerate of the past, and his mansion now used as Memorial Institute as memories of his services for the city. Kesawan Area located in downtown Medan.

Tired of driving around the city, some culinary centers and food courts have have waited for you. One of them is Merdeka Walk. It is located on the side of Merdeka area (across from Medan city hall). It's a modern food court in an open space that is open 24 hours and become one of the favorite hangout place among young people in Medan.

If you want exotic culinary, you may look at the area of ​​Kampung Madras (Kampong Keling) on Zainul Arifin street. In this place we can find a variety of traditional Indian foods such as Tamil bread, teh tarik (milk tea whipped with traditional technique) and various curry. Chinese cuisine big fan will be pampered in Semarang Street (Jalan Semarang), which is the concentration area of Chinese restaurants.

Apart from these main places, a variety of local ethnic cuisine also scattered all over the city, from gudeg Jogja (Javanese food made ​​from the boiled jackfruit) to Tapanuli's lapo offering traditional menu that comes from township Tapanuli (the area around Lake Toba) such as roast pork and Arsik Goldfish.