Masjid Raya

Review: first impression, this town is packed with traffic. everywhere you go cars and motorcycles fill the street. so from my hotel window you can hear the traffic buzzing. The Mosque is loud. I like

The Al Mashun Grand Mosque of Medan aka Masjid Raya is a major landmark of Northern Sumatra that has a quiet charm about it that requires a little bit of time to appreciate. Many people raised in the world of 2-minute noodles, cheap internet porn & Chinese-made electronics expect the world to amaze & wow their senses, all within the 15 mins they spend somewhere. Designed by Dutch architects in North African-Moorish flavour, the Masjid Raya features marble columns from Italy, chandeliers from France, an old clock from The Netherlands & stained glass art-nouveau style windows from Shanghai, China, if this doesn’t impress you, your probably just too posh. The initial design was started by a Christian, who was later transferred to help restore the magnificent Buddhist complex at Borobudur. Built in Moroccan-Moorish style with touches of Dutch character, Medan’s Grand Mosque features an unusual design noticeably different from most traditional mosques. It utilises geometric shapes in its layout which are connected to one another. These can be seen as you first set eyes on it or walk thru the hallways. There are 4 symmetrical octagonal entry halls topped by black domes linked by hallways & illuminated by natural light. The sense of space & proportion are very evident here. The walls & windows are decorated by these geometric shapes which are multiplied in exact size. The halls have access to the inner chamber under the main dome which is supported by 8 large pillars, again in an octagon shape. Today the Masjid Raya is a little worse for wear, tiles are cracked & even some of the beautiful stained glass have shattered but it still has an overall visual impact. More importantly the design has survived without any modifications to its original form.The interior is very ordinary but that’s what happens when religious scholars choose the carpet design. Constructed in 1906, built by the Sultan of Medan, the Grand Mosque was mostly paid for by the fat cat merchant Tjong A Fie, the real king of Medan. Employing more than 10,000 people across his businesses, he pretty much had the biggest gang around. Tjong A Fie gained much from building the Grand Mosque, he became revered by the people, received favours from the sultan & strengthened his iron fist in business & power with the Dutch around North Sumatra in order to stack more gold. The Grand Mosque enhanced the sultan’s own prestige & ego amongst the region’s other rulers. Ironically, this place of spirituality & worship was originally used for profit, power & social politics, cornerstones of greed & people with gold teeth.