The document discusses historical tourism in Banten, Indonesia. It provides background that Banten was once a large Islamic empire and discusses several important historical and religious sites for tourism, including the Great Mosque of Banten, Avalokiteshvara Temple, Grand Mosque, Kaibon Palace, Speelwijk Fort, and Surosowan Palace. It notes that Banten has a southern mountainous region and northern lowlands with rivers and beaches. The conclusion emphasizes maintaining and organizing historical tourism sites in Banten to promote the region's beauty and traditions.
3. Banten was known as one of the largest Islamic empires
in the archipelago. The prosperity of the Kingdom of
Banten even spread to foreign countries. In the book
History of Banten by Yoseph Iskandar, in 2001, it was
stated that the end of the heyday of the Islamic Sultanate
of Banten occurred in the 17th century.
One of the traces of the entry of Islam is the Great
Mosque of Banten which still stands firmly up to this.
Almost every day the mosque was filled with pilgrims
from various parts of the archipelago who wanted to see
firsthand the form of the sturdy building.
To promote tourism in Banten, it is needed to know about
the characteristics of the tourism area. Sujana and Dhila
(2015 : 14) explain that Banten Province is divided into
two different parts. Southern part consists of mountains,
while northern part is the lowlands where there are
several rivers and beaches. Moreover, in many literatures,
Banten is known as a religious society (Kartodirdjo,
1984; Bruinessen, 1995). Banten covers a large chunk of
West Java and therefore its main landmarks and historical
monuments can be quite spread out. There are many
tourism objects which belong to cultural and religious
tourism such as mosques, temples.
INTRODUCTION
4. TheCharacteristicsof Banten
Sujana and Dhila (2015 : 14) explain that Banten Province is divided into two
different parts. Southern part consists of mountains, while northern part is the
lowlands where there are several rivers and beaches.
In addition, Banten has also its legends, folktales which
belong to its local wisdom (Sujana, 2015: 9). These
factors also enrich Banten tourism. All the myths,
legends, folklores are local wisdom, which is a vie of
life, that appears as a resistance to the gloal ideology
(Mulyana, 2009: 3) in Sujana (2015).
According to Kartodirdjo in Pribadi (2013),
social system in Bantenese society is
determined by social stratification called
undakan.
6. Anyer Lighthouse / Bojong Tower
The Anyer Lighthouse was
constructed as a memorial in
1885 for those who lost their
lives when the Krakatoa
volcano erupted just two years
before. The lighthouse towers
more than 40 meter/ 131 feet in
height and its very hard to
miss, being bright white and
offering exceptional views from
the top.
7. Avalokiteshvara Temple
The most historical Chinese
landmark in the whole of
Banten, the Avalokiteshvara
Temple was built in the 1860s
and stands directly outside of
the Speelwijk Fort.
Renovated during the 1930s,
the Avalokiteshvara Temple
remains in a good state of
repair and is well worth a
look, since its architecture is
very brightly coloured and
typically oriental in its
appearance, with exquisite
hard-carved dragon
8. The ancient mosque at Kaujon – Serang
Banten (Masjid Kuno Kaujon)
This ancient mosque is located at Kampung Kaujon Pasar Sore,
in Serang, the capital city of Banten Province. If you visit
Serang city, you should come to this mosque. The location is
not so far from the town square of Serang city. It is on Jaya
diningrat street. It only needs 10 minutes to go there by walking
from the town square. The building stands on a massif with 60
cm height. The main room of the mosque is in a square shape
with 10 x 10 m size, covered with white floor tile.
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9. The main floor of the mosque has
four walls as the borders. Mihrab is
on the western wall, it is a niche used
for “imam” or the leader of prayers to
lead “sholat” or pray. The roof of the
mosque has three floors in layers, in
which each floor has its “mustoko”. At
the southern part, there is a room for
women prayers which is called
“pasantren”. It can be seen local
influence in architecture and
decoration of the mosque. This can
be seen from “pelipit” and “mustoko”.
Pelipit is usually found in temples,
while mustoko is found in Javanese
traditional buildings.
10. Located in the village of Banten, the
Mesjid Agung is a magnificent mosque
and is the region's main landmark.
Dating back to the middle of the 16th
century, the Grand Mosque is an
excellent example of historical Islamic
architecture at its best. The roof of the
mosque comprises five layers and a
minaret. Close by is a busy market, an
old graveyard and the Tiyamah
Monument.
Grand Mosque
(Mesjid Agung)
11. Kaibon Palace
(Keraton Kaibon)
The Palace of Kaibon is known locally as the
Keraton Kaibon and is to be found within the
village of Kroya and alongside the Old Banten
road. Sited some 7 km / 4 miles from Serang and
just a short distance from both the Surosowan
Palace and the Mesjid Agung Banten,
The Keraton Kaibon was built in the early part of
the 19th century and was commissioned by Sultan
Muhammad Raffiudin, who gave this landmark
building to his mother, Queen Asyiah, as a gift.
Today, the palace lays in ruins and just
suggests its former glory and opulence.
12. Speelwijk Fort
Found on the north-westerly side
of Surosowan and in the village
of Pamarican, the Speelwijk Fort
was completed in the early 1680s
by the Dutch. This ancient
fortress was expanded soon
afterwards and enjoys a seafront
setting, where the threat of
attacks from pirate ships was
once a reality. Although the
Speelwijk Fort is rather
crumbing, its four bastions are
still very much standing.
13. Surosowan Palace
Surosowan palace is Constructed
in the early part of the 16th
century, during Sultan Maulana
Hasanuddin's reign, Surosowan
Palace covers an area of around 3
hectares / 7.5 acres and suffered a
large amount of damage at the
beginning of the 19th century,
when the Dutch attacked.
Today, the Surosowan Palace lies in
ruins, with piles of red bricks and the
remains of the walls, which once stood
2 meters / 6.5 feet high and were up to
5 meters / 16.5 feet deep.
The most well-known from Surosowan is a bathing
pool for Rara Denok. The unique part of this pool
is that it has a little pool in the centre of the pool
which has a place for taking a rest called “Bale
Kambang”.
14. CONCLUSION
There are many kinds of historical tourism in Banten. All of those
spot tourism and activities should be maintained organized well, so that the
tourist from other region or countries can enjoy the beauty of Banten. Besides
its hot and hard condition, Banten offers many beautiful places and traditions
to be explored or learnt by the non-local people.
It needs serious maintenance and organization from the government,
the local people and the youth generation to promote and develop the Banten
historical tourism, so it becomes famous and expanding in National and
International.