TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - I took my steps with hesitation along the five-meter wide corridor under the dimming light. This corridor is nested between old buildings from the colonial era. The night was quiet and not many people were seen walking pass by. A group of people were seen gathering on the mouth of the road, but the rest was just quietness.
There was a signboard saying ‘Jalan Brajangan’ (Brajangan Street) on the end of the corridor. For me, who visited this place for the first time, the atmosphere was actually exotic. Together with the old buildings, old lamp posts were still there to preserve colonial ambient.
I had only one night in Semarang back then and I wanted to visit the heart of its civilization. A friend suggested me to visit Johar traditional market or the Old Town. I opted to visit the Old City and I found out later that this was the right choice.
The vein of Semarang’s Old Town is Suprapto Street that stretches from east to the west. Brajangan Street is the first T-junction I encountered as I came from the west. I took my time in enjoying the night in the Old Town. The night air, colonial buildings, the graffiti on the walls and the light beams from the vehicles that passed by, I enjoyed everything.
When I arrived at an old building on the end of the road, I saw many teenagers spending their time there.
“Most of the buildings here were formerly factories,” Farah and Safa, two of the teenagers said to me.
After exploring the road back and forth, I arrived at an understanding about the Old Town: the area is facing identity problem. There are questions in my head such as ‘will the town continue to preserve its antiquity?’ or ‘will it gradually changes to adapt with modernity?’.
The buildings on the east side looked more gloomy compared to those on the west side which is cleaner but start to lose its authenticity. Some of the buildings on the west side are used as offices.
The area, which was first developed in the 18th century, shows European architecture with large windows and doors. These are completed with roofs that has unique shapes. The details, ornaments and decorations are all giving general impression: strong and beautiful!
There are water channels built around the town to prevent flood. The channels looked less preserved. For these channels, Semarang’s Old Town is also dubbed as Little Netherlands.
I’m not an architect but I could see that the main street is home to diverse types of building, although all buildings represent the old European style. The Spiegel cafe, for example, is different from two hostels on the end of the road. One has a strong, towering look while the other offer a more casual look with wooden door and window frames.
Still, the center of the 31-hectare Old Town is Blenduk Curch with Sri Gunting Park nearby it. Crowds started to gather at the park to spend weekend with their family and friends. And it felt like I spent the longest night up on that Saturday night.
TULUS WIJANARKO
