It’s mid January already, so I know it’s high time we stop dwelling on the New Year. But, hey, I promise you the second part to our Cirebon trip and it is here! Unlike the usual way I serve a travel post—I know no one cares (lol)—where you’ll get a chronological view of the trip, this time I thought I’d tweak it a little bit. These two destinations—one visited before the previous post and the other the next day—are so intricately connected, that I felt it would be best to tell you about them in one go.
Aside from food, our main attractions from Cirebon are palaces. There are a total of 3 palaces in this town, as far as we know. Out of those three, we only managed to visit two, yet they have such rich history and are a complete contrast to one another. Are you intrigued?
Keraton Kanoman
Let’s go back in time a little bit and talk about the first palace we visited: Keraton Kanoman. Located by Kanoman Market, we found this palace fairly easily with the help of Google Maps. We were surprised to find that no officials came to greet us or charge us tickets—and we walked into the palace grounds with no difficulty. The palace was built in 1678, following a division in the Sultanate of Cirebon—due to interventions from the Dutch and Portuguese. It is the residence of the Anom Sultans and family.
When it was first built, it is said that you can spot the sea from the Sultan’s throne—which explains the numerous reef-like rocks lining the area. Unfortunately, since then the beach line has moved much farther away, leaving no trace of the original view. The complex, instead, became quite vast, with numerous trees of various kinds and some stray animals—such as monkeys, geese and cats. The royal family still resides within the premises, seeming to keep their doors open for visitors—at the time of our visit, they were making Serabi pancakes, dressed in normal house clothes not unlike you or I.
The main building
Outfit details see here
Today, though, the area is pretty rundown, as it is not tended by the government—we were told it was the family’s wish not to let the government own the property. There were a few buildings in the area, but the main attraction was the main building, painted in blue. It is a place where the kings get coronated—although I’m not sure if this ritual still happens—and where the corpses of a deceased member of the royal family will be displayed and prayed for, before being buried.
This room is very special, complete with a stage-like area, where there used to be small ponds for traditional AC and secret passageway for performers. Too bad, now the room is collecting so much dust and the paint is practically peeling off. There was also Gedung Pusaka, a mini museum full of beautiful, one-of-a-kind royal heirlooms. I didn’t dare take any pictures here, because each item had offerings laid before it.
Keraton Kasepuhan
The main building
Not too far away from Keraton Kanoman, actually, lies Keraton Kasepuhan, the more well-known palace. Built in 1447, it is the first palace to house the Sultanate of Cirebon. After the division of power, Keraton Kasepuhan continues to be the dwelling of the royal family—afterwards known as the Sepuh Sultanate—even to this day. The area opened with a number of various redbrick gates (gapura), dating back to the 15th century, each with its own name and symbols that show when they were built.
The main attraction is the main building facing a small, round park area with statues of tigers and an arc with mega mendung motifs on it. It leads to the home of the royal family and contains the complete royal family tree. Both palaces share one attribute in common, unique only to Cirebon’s palaces: painted porcelain tiles line the white concrete walls. At Kanoman, these tiles came from China, Saudi Arabia dan England. Here it was all Dutch—coded by colour, they either depict the nature in Holland or scenes from the bible.
Hand-me-down top + purse + jacket + dress // Sadhu earrings // outfit photos by Agung
In stark contrast to Kanoman, Keraton Kasepuhan is well tended and funded by the government. As we arrived, we had to buy tickets and have a guide show us around. The guide was dressed in traditional garments, complete with batik fabric—known as jarik—as the bottom and blangkon. He told us the full history of the palace and showed us around. Not only was he deeply knowledgeable about the palace and royal family, he has impeccable skills as a photographer too—all phone photos, not shown here. It was obvious we had to give him a tip, even though he came for free.
This palace also has a museum of heirlooms, but it costs too much for us, so we didn’t get in—although I already did once as a child. Unlike Kanoman, this palace is often used to welcome stately visitors, such as the vice president and/or ministers.
We also weren’t given the chance to meet the royal family—probably only allowed to at special occasions and possibly from afar. The area looks really well looked-after, though. I suppose there’s a trade for everything.
That concludes our Cirebon trip! We actually stayed there two more days, but only spent it hunting for local food—which we loved! How was your New Year?
It’s mid January already, so I know it’s high time we stop dwelling on the New Year. But, hey, I promise you the second part to our Cirebon trip and it is here! Unlike the usual way I serve a travel post—I know no one cares (lol)—where you’ll get a chronological view of the trip, this time I thought I’d tweak it a little bit. These two destinations—one visited before the previous post and the other the next day—are so intricately connected, that I felt it would be best to tell you about them in one go.
Aside from food, our main attractions from Cirebon are palaces. There are a total of 3 palaces in this town, as far as we know. Out of those three, we only managed to visit two, yet they have such rich history and are a complete contrast to one another. Are you intrigued?
Keraton Kanoman
Let’s go back in time a little bit and talk about the first palace we visited: Keraton Kanoman. Located by Kanoman Market, we found this palace fairly easily with the help of Google Maps. We were surprised to find that no officials came to greet us or charge us tickets—and we walked into the palace grounds with no difficulty. The palace was built in 1678, following a division in the Sultanate of Cirebon—due to interventions from the Dutch and Portuguese. It is the residence of the Anom Sultans and family.
When it was first built, it is said that you can spot the sea from the Sultan’s throne—which explains the numerous reef-like rocks lining the area. Unfortunately, since then the beach line has moved much farther away, leaving no trace of the original view. The complex, instead, became quite vast, with numerous trees of various kinds and some stray animals—such as monkeys, geese and cats. The royal family still resides within the premises, seeming to keep their doors open for visitors—at the time of our visit, they were making Serabi pancakes, dressed in normal house clothes not unlike you or I.
The main building
Outfit details see here
Today, though, the area is pretty rundown, as it is not tended by the government—we were told it was the family’s wish not to let the government own the property. There were a few buildings in the area, but the main attraction was the main building, painted in blue. It is a place where the kings get coronated—although I’m not sure if this ritual still happens—and where the corpses of a deceased member of the royal family will be displayed and prayed for, before being buried.
This room is very special, complete with a stage-like area, where there used to be small ponds for traditional AC and secret passageway for performers. Too bad, now the room is collecting so much dust and the paint is practically peeling off. There was also Gedung Pusaka, a mini museum full of beautiful, one-of-a-kind royal heirlooms. I didn’t dare take any pictures here, because each item had offerings laid before it.
Keraton Kasepuhan
The main building
Not too far away from Keraton Kanoman, actually, lies Keraton Kasepuhan, the more well-known palace. Built in 1447, it is the first palace to house the Sultanate of Cirebon. After the division of power, Keraton Kasepuhan continues to be the dwelling of the royal family—afterwards known as the Sepuh Sultanate—even to this day. The area opened with a number of various redbrick gates (gapura), dating back to the 15th century, each with its own name and symbols that show when they were built.
The main attraction is the main building facing a small, round park area with statues of tigers and an arc with mega mendung motifs on it. It leads to the home of the royal family and contains the complete royal family tree. Both palaces share one attribute in common, unique only to Cirebon’s palaces: painted porcelain tiles line the white concrete walls. At Kanoman, these tiles came from China, Saudi Arabia dan England. Here it was all Dutch—coded by colour, they either depict the nature in Holland or scenes from the bible.
Hand-me-down top + purse + jacket + dress // Sadhu earrings // outfit photos by Agung
In stark contrast to Kanoman, Keraton Kasepuhan is well tended and funded by the government. As we arrived, we had to buy tickets and have a guide show us around. The guide was dressed in traditional garments, complete with batik fabric—known as jarik—as the bottom and blangkon. He told us the full history of the palace and showed us around. Not only was he deeply knowledgeable about the palace and royal family, he has impeccable skills as a photographer too—all phone photos, not shown here. It was obvious we had to give him a tip, even though he came for free.
This palace also has a museum of heirlooms, but it costs too much for us, so we didn’t get in—although I already did once as a child. Unlike Kanoman, this palace is often used to welcome stately visitors, such as the vice president and/or ministers.
We also weren’t given the chance to meet the royal family—probably only allowed to at special occasions and possibly from afar. The area looks really well looked-after, though. I suppose there’s a trade for everything.
That concludes our Cirebon trip! We actually stayed there two more days, but only spent it hunting for local food—which we loved! How was your New Year?