after my visit to the museum, i walked for a few minutes going to the national monument of indonesia, monumen nasional. it is an obelisk-type monument that stands 433 feet and sits in the center of merdeka square, an area in central jakarta surrounded by government buidings.

the monument is the symbol of the country’s fight for independence. at the top of the structure represents a flame, weighing 14.5 ton called as the flame of independence, which is covered by 50 kilogram of real gold foil.

there is an underground passageway that leads up to the base of the monument, where you have to pay an entrance fee. inside is the national history museum.

The towering monument encapsulates the philosophy of Lingga and Yoni. Lingga resembles an alu rice pestle and Yoni resembles a lesung rice mortar, two important traditional Indonesian tools. Lingga and Yoni also symbolize eternal life with the lingga phallic symbol, representing masculinity, positive elements, and daytime and the Yoni the female organs symbol, representing femininity, negative elements, and night. The monument consists of a 117.7m obelisk on a 45m square platform at a height of 17m, the goblet yard. ~ from wikipedia

there is an observation deck in the tower where you have to pay another entrance fee. unfortunately the ticket counter was already closed at 3:00 pm and i was not able to get access.

the monument is open to the public everyday, from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.

the next morning, i attended mass at jakarta cathedral ( gereja katedral jakarta).

the cathedral is buit in neo-gothic style and was consecrated in 1901. there are three main spires where the two tallest ones measured 60 metres tall and are located in front on each side of the portal.

the buildings material consist of thick red bricks covered with plaster, roofs made of teak wood and the spires made of iron.

the large round stained glass called as rozeta rosa mystica, is the symbol of mother mary.

only 3% of indonesia’s population are catholics.

there is a statue of mother mary in the main entrance and a sentence written in latin: “beatam me dicentes omnes generationes” which means “all generations shall call me blessed”.

after the mass was finished, i bought some wooden rosaries in the cathedral’s bookstore to bring back home for my ma.  i took a picture of the cathedral from istiqlal mosque at the opposite road then took a taxi to surabaya street.