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Gallery IVB Colours of Old Town East
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Words and Photography by Kennie Ting
Across the Kali Mas (Mas River), East of the Jembatan Merah (or Red
Bridge), sits a different world altogether from the one the Dutch lived and worked in.
Here, there is a sort of dignified stillness and anonymity, associated with two
immigrant peoples – the Chinese and the Arabs – who functioned in a social space
entirely their own.
It being the festival of Idul-Fitri when I shot these photos, many of the shops
and residences were shuttered for the weekend. Ironically, this resulted in me taking
some of the best shots of my trip. I hadn’t wanted to shoot the obvious – most
notably the religious landmarks these quarters were centred around. Instead, I chose
to shoot something a little more quotidian.
The one thing that struck me most about Old Town East was how colourful it
was. A certain Meditteranean aesthetic dominated, characterised by bright colours
juxtaposed against white (faded to grey) facades; and this surprising surfeit of colour
made my walk through the area a delightful journey of discovery.
This gallery presents views from three parts of Old Town East – the old Port
of Kalimas, with its pnisis boats; the Arab Quarter of Ampel; and finally, Chinatown,
situated along and around Jalan Kembang Jepun.
In putting these shots together, I am inspired by the work of travel writer, Tim
Hannigan, who has lived in and written about Surabaya. My matter-of-fact
photography pales in comparison with his wondrously evocative accounts of
wandering through the Old Town. These brilliant accounts can be found here:
http://tahannigan.blogspot.sg/2011/04/wandering-into-past-in-old-surabaya.html
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Fig. 1 – Pnisis at the old port of Kalimas.
Fig. 2 – Warehouse, Kalimas.
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Fig. 3 – Dutch godowns on the Western shore, Kalimas.
Fig. 4 – Chinese-style warehouses and residences on the Eastern Shore.
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Fig. 5 – Lighthouse tower (?), Kalimas. Notice the mosaic of a fish and crocodile to the lower left of the tower.
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Fig. 6 – Becak and bright colours, Kalimas.
Fig. 7 – Pink and grey shutters.
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Fig. 8 – Blue and mauve, Ampel.
Fig. 9 – Shades of green, Ampel.
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Fig. 10 – Shuttered storefronts, Ampel.
Fig. 11 – Traditional Malay-style balcony on the second floor, Ampel.
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Fig. 12 – Lime Green grills, Ampel.
Fig. 13 – Motorcyclist, Ampel.
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Fig.14 – Dilapidated facades, Ampel.
Fig. 15 – Another dilapidated façade, Jalan Kembang Jepun (Chinatown).
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Fig. 16 – Bright pink shutters, Jalan Kembang Jepun.
Fig. 17 – Contrasted against grey, Jalan Kembang Jepun.
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Fig. 18 – Bright Blue, Jalan Kembang Jepun.
Fig. 19 – Blue-green washed gray, Jalan Kembang Jepun.
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Fig. 20 – A colonial-style building in Chinatown, with lions at the front door.
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Fig. 21 – Scattered throughout Chinatown are these traditional style houses.
Fig. 22 – Here’s another one.
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Fig. 23 – Warehouses in Chinatown.
Fig. 24 – Apartment blocks from the ‘50s and ‘60s, Chinatown.
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Fig. 25 – Traditional shophouse architecture – found all over the Malay Archipelago – in Chinatown.
Fig. 26 – Traditional ornament, on the façade of the Han Ash House, Jalan Kembang Jepun.
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Fig. 27 – Juxtaposition of the old and the new, Chinatown.
Fig. 28 – Another instance of graffiti art, actually along Jalan Jembatan Merah (Old Town West), but whatever.