Old town festival staged to attract visitors

A one-day festival was staged at the Jakarta Historical Museum, or Fatahillah Museum as it is more commonly known, on Saturday as part of the effort to lure more tourists to visit Jakarta's old town, which the administration is attempting to develop as a tourist destination.

The Old Town Festival was officially opened by West Jakarta Mayor Sarimun Hadisaputra at around 9 a.m.

"I hope the public, non-governmental organizations and the municipal administration can work hand-in-hand to develop the old town area into a tourist destination, which in the end will help increase our revenue," the mayor said in his speech.

Among the cultural events staged were a tanjidor (Betawi -- native Jakartans orchestra) performance, ondel-ondel (giant papier mache effigies), barongsai (Chinese dragon dance) performance and a keroncong Tugu (a Portuguese influenced musical genre) show.

Besides the cultural events, pictures of Jakarta, known as Batavia during the colonial era, were also displayed (photo above). The pictures were provided by the Tropen Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. -- JP