Medan

Medan is the capital city of North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. It is situated in the north of the province. It is the third largest city of Sumatra with 2.5 million population. It has a harbor named Belawan and a airport Polonia International Airport. Primarily the inhabitants are of Batak Karo community.

Being a dynamic city Medan is the gateway to many tourist destinations like Lake Toba, Berastagi, Buktu Lawang etc. Medan was a village in the starting. It was called Kampung Medan, founded by Guru Patimpus around 1590. It is located where river Deli meets Babura river. The name Medan is based on Medina a holy city of Saudi Arabia. According to another story the name comes from Indian language 'Meiden'.

Medan has a mix of community. The people belong to various ethnic groups like Javanese, Chinese etc. In 1860s when the Dutch began to clear the land for tobacco plantation the place began to flourish. Today it is the center of government and commercial activity, dominating the development of Indonesia's western region.

Medan is divided into 151 suburbs and 21 towns like Medan Johor, Medan Amplas, Medan Devaui Area, Medan Kota, Medan Baru etc.

The place is home of various rivers like

Belawan
Pulih
Babura
Deli
Kera
Badra

You can go to various places to see the Dutch architecture.

Old City Hall
The Central Post Office
Water Tower
Maimum Palace
Great Mosque
Titi Gantung

The place offers you a number of shopping malls like

Grand Palladium
Hong Kong Plaza
Makro
Medan Mall

You can also explore the special dishes of Medan like

Pecel
Fruit Rojak
Soto
Sayur Asem
Serabi

Medan is a very colorful place and an ideal destination for people who have a quest to know the unknown.