A piece of history lives on in bustling Surabaya

A piece of history lives on in bustling Surabaya

Old hotels, with their history, mood and character, become like
the onetime belles of the ball, wistfully whiling away their days
in their faded brocade and beautiful jewels.

They are a constant reminder of a bygone era, but not
necessarily one that we want to visit. Instead, there are the
new, younger, prettier models grabbing our attention.

For a period in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Majapahit
Hotel was like that. It had seen better days; tattered, world-
weary and only providing a hint of what it used to be.

It looked like it was going the same sad way of the Hotel
Niagara, the old, art deco hotel in Lawang, about two hours drive
from Surabaya, with its rooms boarded up and its rooms rented by
the hour.

New management, a new name and a facelift has breathed new
life into Mandarin Oriental Hotel Majaphit since 1996, which now
has five-star status.

"On a daily basis our banquet is always booked for seminars,
meetings, conferences or even wedding parties. Staying guests are
mostly businessmen and foreigners," said the hotel's public
relations manager, Wike Trisnandhini.

From outside on busy Jl. Tunjungan, the art deco facade of the
hotel is little changed from when it was first built in 1910.
Some parts of the hotel, like the lobby and some of the suites,
have been renovated. If anything, the renovation has enhanced the
hotel's old-time charm.

During its nearly 100 years in business, some of the most
important people in the country have stayed at the hotel. That
does not only include current President Megawati Soekarnoputri
and her predecessor Abdurrahman Wahid, who stayed in the
expensive presidential suite.

Perhaps only a few people know that Charlie Chaplin and author
Joseph Conrad, who based many of his stories in the East Indies,
stayed at the Majapahit during their trips to Surabaya.

The hotel also shares some history with the grand Raffles
Hotel in Singapore. The Singapore hotel, the Majapahit, The
Strand in Myanmar and Eastern and Oriental in Penang, Malaysia,
were founded by the four enterprising brothers from Armenia --
Martin, Tigran, Aviet and Arshak Sarkies.

The Mandarin Majapahit was built on the initiative of
Lucas Martin Sarkies, son of Martin.

"We have some original pictures, placed in various sections of
the hotel, on Surabaya back then," Wike explained.

The Majapahit is probably most famous for a landmark event in
the country's independence struggle, still remembered by many
Surabayans as the "flag-tearing incident".

During the Dutch colonial era, the hotel was named the Oranje,
but it was used by the Japanese as a military barracks and
transit shelter for women being sent to prison camps during the
Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies from 1942-45.

On Sept. 19, 1945, the returning Dutch community gathered at
the hotel and raised the red, white and blue flag of their
homeland.

It incensed local youths who knew of the proclamation of
independence in Jakarta the previous Aug. 17. They gathered about
an hour later outside the hotel, with several youths climbing up
the flagpole and tearing out the blue section to make the
Indonesian flag.

The act became rallied the local people, who gathered to sing
the national anthem and continued the independence fight (The
hotel was known as Hotel Merdeka (liberty hotel) in the ensuing
months). . A grainy photo of the flag being ripped still causes a
strong emotional reaction among Indonesians who lived through the
struggle.

"The flagpole is still standing strong like the old days.
Guests usually ask about that pole," Wike said.

-- Emmy Fitri