MONAS

After two failed attempts, I finally made it to the top of MONAS, or Indonesia’s “National Monument.”  It’s not the most impressive building I’ve ever been to, but National sites are important and so much pride surrounds the monument, that I felt I had to make it to the top.  A birds-eye view afforded me excellent glimpses of the lawn, park and greenery.  It was beautiful and I was happy to finally check that off my list.  The best part though is the price.  For just about 50 cents you can have this experience too, but get there right at 9am when there is no line.  At 9:30 there is already a significant queue and the heat starts to build!

ISTIQLAL MOSQUE

Not far from MONAS in lies Istiqlal Mosque.  (Please don’t ask me how to pronounce this….)  This happens to be the largest mosque in Indonesia and Southeast Asia and the 4th largest in the world.

The rules for this mosque are a little more relaxed compared with my visit to the Grand Mosque in the UAE.  For this visit, I did NOT have to cover my hair.  I was given a Batik robe to wear, just because I was wearing short sleeves.

Tours operate by donation only and I was led around for about 45 minutes while taking pictures and receiving lots of juicy education.  It was a beautiful place to experience.

JAKARTA CATHEDRAL

Basically across the street from the Mosque is the Jakarta Cathedral.  This is a beautiful Catholic church on a beautiful street, surrounded by city hubbub.  There is a park-like area just outside the church’s side doors where visitors can find relief from the sun under some shady trees.  And inside the church is even more beautiful than the outside.

With so much unrest in the world and so many places unable to attain religious freedom, I found the juxtaposition of these two buildings reassuring.  Hopefully, at some point in my lifetime, I will get to see the people of the world being able to worship how and what they like, with nobody else interfering in anyone else’s business.

My fingers remain crossed….