On the same day we went to the National Monument, we also went to visit the Masjid Istiqlal or the Istiqlal Mosque. It is the largest mosque in Indonesia and the largest mosque in S.E. Asia. The main prayer room can accomodate up to 200,000 worshippers. Normally the mosque is fairly empty except for fridays and it gets full during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting (in August). There is no charge to tour the mosque, but a tip for the tour guide is expected. Mommy only tipped the guide 10,000 rupiah because it was seriously like a 5 minute tour. The guide didn't say much of anything. Mommy could tell he wasn't very happy with the tip. Mommy asked someone else later how much a customary tip would be. Apparently a normal tip is around 50,000 Rupiah. Oh well...what to do.
To enter the mosque, you should dress modestly and you definitely must remove your shoes. Mommy had heard that women must also cover their heads when entering the mosque, but neither Mommy nor the girls were asked to cover our heads. Although the tour was short, it was definitely worth a visit.
Prayer room
Large courtyard that is also full during Ramadan
View of the mosque from the top of the National Monument
2 comments:
You are so funny about the tip. :)
Pretty interesting building, and that you could even be there to see it! Noticeable is the lack of any chairs, at least what the pictures showed.
no chairs...they just pray on the ground. I've noticed that sometimes people have their own prayer mats.
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