MENJELAJAH PULAU PENYENGAT PROVINSI KEPULAUAN RIAU

Today we will cross to Penyengat Island which is only 20 minutes from Sri Bintan Pura Harbor using a Pompong boat, Today the weather is quite sunny Maybe the name Penyengat Island is not very familiar to some people, the name Penyengat comes from a story that developed from the community. It is said that in ancient times there were sailors who were fetching water on this island, but were attacked by thousands of poisonous insects because they violated several taboos. This animal is called a stinger, henceforth this island is called Penyengat Island. Whether this story is true or not, it is clear that there is no literature that states it for certain. But what is clear is that this island has a rich and interesting history to explore. Penyengat Island was once the center of government of the Riau Lingga kingdom since 1722, until it was finally taken over completely by the Dutch in 1811. This is stinging island, This island has its own romantic story, because this island was used as a dowry or dowry given by Sultan Mahmud Syah, who was also the sultan at that time, to his wife, Engku Putri Raja Hamidah, in 1803. The Riau Sultan Grand Mosque looks very striking among the surrounding buildings with its bright yellow color. This mosque was built in 1771, where the architecture requires Islamic religious symbols, including 5 doors which symbolize the 5 Pillars of Islam. 6 units of windows which symbolize the Pillars of Faith, as well as 13 domes and 4 towers which when added up become 17, which symbolizes the number of rakats of obligatory prayers during the day and night. This mosque was built not using cement as an adhesive, but egg white mixed with sand and lime. Using the Bentor mode of transportation, the first destination we visited was the tomb of Raja Ali Haji which is located in the Riau Lingga sultanate burial complex. Raja Ali Haji is a prominent scholar, scholar, historian and writer who made a major contribution to Malay culture and literature. His great work is entitled The Book of Language Knowledge, which is the first book to lay the structural foundations of the Malay language, which is the forerunner of perfected spelling. The Malay language in this book was designated at the Indonesian Youth Congress on 28 October 1928 as the national language of Indonesia. So it can be said that it was from Penyengat Island that the Indonesian language was born. As a poet he also wrote several works, one of which is famous is Gurindam 12, For his services in the development of the Indonesian language Raja Ali Haji was named a National Hero in 2004, with the nickname Father of the National Language. The last tourist destination we visited was the Pulau Penyengat Malay Traditional House, which is a replica of a traditional Malay house that used to exist on this island. This building is in the form of a stage with a wooden construction which is typical of Malay, which was built in 1985 which functioned to hold banquets for important people. Still in this area there are fresh water wells that have existed since the 16th century, which are still flowing, which are drinkable, which are still flowing even in the dry season. The spring water remains fresh even though the well is very close to the beach. Next we enter the traditional hall room, we can see the layout and some Malay traditional equipment, With an island length of 2,000 m and a width of 800 m, it is sufficient to use the bentor mode of transportation. In fact, there are still many tourist destination objects that can be visited today, such as the Office Palace, forts and several historical relics on this island. Because the time was too late and before maghrib, we stopped our visit to this stinging island.