June 26, 2007 edition
THE future of Pasar Johar (Johar Market) in Semarang, Central Java, designed by Herman Thomas Karsten, is becoming more and more uncertain. The market with its unique architectural design, in the form of a mushroom-shaped roof, has escaped demolition by the Semarang City Government a number of times. The rationale for demolition is revitalization. There is an investor who is willing to replace the marketplace with a six-story building. The most recent recommendation is to elevate the marketplace built in 1939, in order to avoid high tides. The various plans will not only threaten cultural preservation, but also eliminate the livelihoods of those who have depended on the “big village” called Pasar Johar for decades.
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More Intermezzo articles in other editions
June 19, 2007 edition
June 12, 2007 edition
June 5, 2007 edition
May 29, 2007 edition
May 15, 2007 edition
TUNISIA, a small country in North Africa, is ‘close’ to Hollywood. The movie Star Trek was made in the country’s desert. Not many people know that 40 percent of its land is desert. The Sahara, the extensive sandy region making up one-third of the African continent, runs across Tunisia.
The following is a travelogue by Tempo journalist L.N. Idayanie who explored the towns along the Sahara—Hammamet, Sousse, Kairouan, Douz, Chebika, Matmata, and Jerba. They also constitute a portrait of the lives of the Berbers, the natives of the Sahara, as well as the tales from the ruins of the ancient Carthage kingdom.
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May 1, 2007 edition