Get To Know A Historic and Malay Cultural Heritage in Penyengat Island, Riau Islands, Indonesia.

Pulau Penyengat, the site of a historic and Malay cultural heritage.

Pulau Penyengat is a small island located approximately 2 km from Tanjungpinang, the capital city of Riau Islands province. The island measures 2,000 meters long and 850 meters wide, is located approximately 35 km from Batam Island. The island can be reached from Tanjungpinang using a motorboat or better known as pompong which takes approximately 15 minutes.

Sketchy map of historic buildings in Penyengat Island.

 The island has historical significance, dating back to the 18th Century, when it was established as a fort as part of the Sultanate of Johor-Riau by the Bugis. One can find many historic relics such as Masjid Raya Sultan Riau made from egg whites, the tombs of the kings, national heroes tomb of Raja Ali Haji, and the Office of the Palace complex in Bukit Kursi bastion. Since the date of October 19, 1995, Pulau Penyengat and palace complex on the island has been nominated to be one of UNESCO's World Heritage Site.

Masjid Raya Sultan Riau

Masjid Raya Sultan Riau.

This mosque was originally built by Sultan Mahmud in 1803. Then, the mosque was renovated in the form seen today during the reign of Yang Dipertuan Muda Raja Abdurrahman,in 1832 .The main building of the mosque, measuring 18 x 20 meters, is supported by four pillars of concrete. In the four corners of the building, there is a tower where Bilal calling muslims to performs obligatory prayers five times a day. In the building of Masjid Sultan Riau there are 13 onion-shaped domes. The total number of towers and domes in Masjid Sultan Riau is as many as 17 pieces symbolizing the number of prayers obligatory prayers five times a day. Historically, the mosque was built using a mixture of egg white, lime, sand and clay.

Masjid Raya Sultan Riau standing out as seen from the sea.

 Istana Kantor

Istana Kantor.

Office palace is a palace of the viceroy Riau VIII Raja Ali (1844-1857), or also called Marhum Office. Besides being used as a residence, building constructed in 1844 is also functioned as an office by Raja Ali.Office palace measuring approximately 110 m2 and occupies an area of about one hectare which is entirely surrounded by walls. Buildings and debris are still showing the splendor of the past.

Balai Adat Melayu

Balai Adat Melayu Inderaperkasa

Balai Adat Melayu Inderaperkasa is a replica of Malay traditional house that ever existed on the island. Indigenous Hall building is a typical Malay houses on stilts made of wood. Balai Adat is functioned to welcome guests or hold a banquet for important people.Inside the building, we can see the layout and some objects of Malay custom fixtures, as well as various equipment used for art performances to entertain important guests.At the bottom of the Balai Adat, visitors can find a freshwater well said to have been centuries old and until now the water is still flowing and can be drunk directly.
 

Freshwater well.

 Gedung Tabib Kerajaan

The ex-building of Engku Haji Daud is only a rectangular shape concrete wall with a number of door and window frames. This building is used to be named after the building of Engku Haji Daud or royal physician building because he was the royal physician of Riau Kingdom. The ex-building attracts visitors due to its historic heritage as well as its location in the middle of settlement.

Gedung Mesiu

The storage of Gunpowder, Gedung Mesiu.

Gedung Mesiu or Gunpowder Building was used to store gunpowder in the era of Riau Kingdom. During the gloly of Riau Kingdom, there were four storage for safekeeping of gunpowder in Pulau Penyengat, but now only one left to the south of Masjid Raya Sultan Riau. The entire building is made of rectangular walls with gabled roof shape. The entrance to the building is located in the north side and furnished with small iron barred window.

Transportation in Penyengat Island using "Bemor" at the jetty.

Transportation To and In Pulau Penyengat
Pulau Penyengat is accessible by using a small motor boat or called by locals as pompong. There are three jetties available in Tanjung Pinang. The first one is a jetty for ferries from Batam island; the second one, positioned in the middle is servicing all ferries from Singapore; and the last one is dedicated for people from Pulau penyengat. Thus, all visitors are required to go to the third jetty to get to Pulau Penyengat.

Jetty to Pulau Penyengat and Kepompong standing by.

Jetty for ferries from Singapore (left) and Batam (right).

To get around Pulau Penyengat, visitor may either take a walk or rent a "Bemor". "Bemor" is available at the jetty of Pulau Penyengat to go through all objects of tourism in faster way. Visitors may rent "Bemor" hourly or daily with the rental price of "Bemor" is Rp 30,000.0 for two riders or Rp 40,000.0 for three riders. One day rental, from 08.00 to 17.00, is Rp 300,000.0.

Source: wikipedia.