Banda Aceh's Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, a silent witness to history.

My photo with my wife in the front yard of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Banda Aceh.

On Monday, December 9, 2024 I visited the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh. This mosque is one of the places of worship and a landmark for the city center of Aceh Province. In addition, this mosque is also a silent witness in a number of Acehnese histories.

This mosque was also a historic witness during the Aceh earthquake and tsunami in 2004, during the Aceh tsunami there were thousands of lives that disappeared, but the people who ran into the mosque all survived the incident.

A number of witnesses have also revealed that the sea water that came surging very fast seemed unable to enter the mosque, as if something was blocking it so that the water flowed to another place and the people who were inside survived.

Another interesting fact is that while all the surrounding buildings were destroyed, collapsed and washed away. But the mosque stood firm without any damage to the building. Could this be Allah's help? Only those who have faith will admit it.

In addition, the death of a Dutch warlord General Johan Harmen Rudolf Kohler who was shot dead by an Acehnese sniper in the courtyard of the mosque in 1873 was also a historic witness when Aceh fought against the Dutch.

Dutch troops had taken control of the mosque, the pride of the Acehnese people. At that time Kohler was in the courtyard of the mosque while checking the troops, one of the Acehnese snipers or snipers from a distance shot Kohler dead in front of his troops. This incident symbolized the Acehnese people's resistance to the Dutch East Indies troops. I feel strange why I suddenly became a history expert today, hehe.

But now the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh is more beautiful and magnificent, after the Aceh tsunami this mosque was rebuilt and renovated with a very large budget. A number of underground floors were built, the floors of the mosque were also replaced with special marble which provides a cool feeling even in hot weather.

There are a number of large umbrellas around the mosque courtyard so that visitors can take shelter under these umbrellas in hot or rainy weather. Overall, the rehabilitation of the mosque building uses a touch of modern and dynamic style.

But today the umbrellas were deliberately not opened, is this because there is a small rehabilitation or renovation being carried out by the workers? I also do not understand it.

Photo of the front yard of the mosque 👆👆👆

Photo from the side of the mosque 👆👆👆

Workers are repairing the floor of the mosque 👉

This beautiful and majestic mosque is the most visited place by tourists from various regions. When I was there with my wife, we both took some photos to capture the moment in front of this beautiful mosque.

I could hardly open my eyes when taking pictures because of the scorching heat of the sun at that time, but several times I complained about it my wife always scolded me. She said come on, just hang in there for a while, she said excitedly.

I then entered the lower floor and went to take my ablutions to immediately perform the Zuhr prayer, this mosque has separate ablution facilities for men and women. The ablution place is very spacious and clean, the ablution facilities are also equipped with marble tiles.

The atmosphere inside the mosque, photo of the front row of the mosque.

After finishing the Zuhr prayer, I sat inside the mosque for a few minutes to rest. The mosque is also equipped with marble floors and air conditioning. It's so cool inside the mosque that I feel at home here for a long time.

In addition, I sat looking at the ceilings inside the mosque, everything looked very beautiful and some parts were equipped with calligraphy carvings. Some people say that being in this mosque is like being inside the Medina mosque, so please pray that I will soon be able to go to the holy land and visit the Medina mosque.

Map Location [//]:# (!steematlas 5.55352514 lat 95.31751424 long Masjid Raya Baiturrahman Banda Aceh d3scr)

Thus this article, hopefully useful and inspiring all who read it. Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to comment.