Istiqlal Mosque

Istiqlal - independence - was conceived after the revolution as a national mosque and opened in 1978, with capacity given at around two hundred thousand, which makes it the largest in Southeast Asia. Two facts about it are usually told together and both are true. The design competition was won by Frederich Silaban, a Batak Protestant Christian from North Sumatra, whose entry Sukarno selected. And the site was chosen deliberately across the road from Jakarta Cathedral, the Catholic seat, so the two face each other; the congregations share parking on each other's major festivals, and in 2020 a pedestrian tunnel was built directly linking them, called the Tunnel of Friendship. The architecture is stripped and modern: a vast steel-and-concrete dome, a single minaret, marble and no ornament to speak of.

What you actually see

• The largest mosque in the region - capacity given at around two hundred thousand.
• A Christian architect's design - Silaban's competition-winning scheme, chosen by Sukarno.
• The cathedral opposite - the two seats facing each other across the road.
• The Tunnel of Friendship - the 2020 pedestrian link between the two.

When to go

All year, outside prayer times. An hour or two.

Honest expectations

Non-Muslim visitors are received through a separate entrance with a guide and robes; times are limited and Friday midday is closed. The interior is deliberately plain, which some find austere.

Nearby

Jakarta Cathedral is across the road; Merdeka Square and Monas are west.