Most visitors still refer to the pictured, particularly well-preserved/restored precinct as “Old Batavia”.
The independent nation whose flag now flutters there prefers to call it “Old Jakarta”.
My photo’s vantage point was Cafe Batavia, on Taman Fatahillah – Batavia’s main square.
The photo looks across to what used to be the administrative hub of what was then – 18th century CE – the greatest trading centre in all of Asia.
Batavia was established and originally controlled by the VOC, known to speakers of English as “The Dutch East India Company”.
The VOC was the parent of all of “our” world’s ruthless, giant corporations; it was the original “multinational”, and the first company to issue stock/“shares”.
Any observant visitor to Indonesia can hardly fail to be impressed by the care it takes to preserve and present its “built heritage”, including structures erected by assorted “raiders”, “invaders” and “colonists”, and the “sacred” buildings of various religions, including non-monotheistic ones.
Eventually, multi-image Pelican Yoga posts will show and tell rather more about all of the just-mentioned.
(today’s image is ©️ Doug Spencer, taken in “Old Batavia” on the morning of 16 October 2024)
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