Semarang is divided into two sections. The old town is nearest the water and between the canals, and the further and newer suburbs is around the southern hills of Candi.
The Chinese troops stopped along these shores in 1405, An Arab mullah founded the original village in the late 15th century. Javanese rulers from the court of Mataram oversaw the settlement until 1678. Semarang was officially switched to a Dutch trading outpost in 1705 and became a center for coffee, sugar, tobacco, and rice cultivation. It is Indonesia's fifth largest city.
When we docked, we were greeted by dancers and musicians. One of the ladies decided to dance with me. She wrapped her scarf around me and we danced.
Well, sort of danced. I tried to follow her lead, but I am not as graceful or thin.
Our first stop on the tour was to a 4-star resort. To be kind, I would not call it 4 star but it was nice. We toured the grounds and got to see a team of oxen ready a field for the planting of the rice plants. The planting is done one plant at a time by hand. Back breaking duty if you ask me. They then had three ladies perform the local welcome dance for us. They served snacks and tea or coffee.
Next we traveled to Sam Poo Kong. This is a unique temple built to honor the Muslim eunuch Admiral Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty. He led the Chinese fleets throughout Asia and Java in the 15th century.
Statue of Admiral He.
The next stop was to Gereja Blenduk. This is a Dutch Church over 225 years old. It was built in 1753. The church has an impressive copper domed roof.
The dome from the inside of the church.
It has a large organ but it is not in working order.
And the dome from the outside.
And our final stop was to Central Java Grand Mosque. We could not go into the mosque. It is the largest mosque in all of Indonesia. While there we took pictures of our escorts. Here in Semarang, all the buses were escorted by a police escort. This aided our running the lights and getting to the sites in a timely fashion.
The large white columns are umbrellas that open up on Fridays during the services. The men kneel on the outside of the Mosque and the umbrellas protect them from the sun. There are so many that come to worship on Friday, that this is the overflow crowd.
Bob and I with our escorts.
We returned to the ship for lunch. Then tried to nap but too late.
We had cocktails up in the Observation Lounge and spoke with Marilyn. Down to dinner where we sat at a terrible table. Next time we need to be more vocal about the location of the table. Live and learn.
Will try and post now and add the pictures later.
Tuesday is another sea day. So slow internet. And it is the last full day for the first leg of this journey. We will dock in Singapore on Wednesday morning where lots of the passengers will leave to go home. Those of us who are staying will go on a sightseeing tour of Singapore. So my next entry will be from Singapore. I have learned a great deal about this area of the world and everyday I am more grateful to be an American and live in the wonderful country that I do. When you travel, you do see another side of the world and realize how great we have it. I am forever grateful for the chance to travel and grateful to return home. But not for a while yet.
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