Makassar, The Capital City of South Sulawesi

Makassar or Macassar or sometimes Mangkasar, is a city in South Sulawesi, and also the capital of this province. From 1971 until 1999 the town was officially known as Ujung Pandang.This city is such a big city with numbers or diversities, relating the tribes who live in Makassar, like Makassar people, Bugis, Toraja, Mandar, and Tionghoa.

Since the 16th century, Makassar was the dominant trading center of eastern Indonesia, and later became one of the largest cities in Southeast Asia. Makassar kings was adopted a strict policy of free trade, in which all visitors who came to Makassar have right to conduct any commercial things there, and refused to attempt the VOC (the Dutch) to obtain monopoly rights in the city. Beside, the tolerance relating religious right was also become the diversities up to present time.

The first European settlers were the Portuguese sailors. When the Portuguese reached Sulawesi in 1511, they found Makassar a thriving cosmopolitan entre-port where Chinese, Arabs, Indians, Siamese, Javanese, and Malays came to trade their manufactured metal goods and fine textiles for precious pearls, gold, copper, camphor and, of course, the invaluable spices – nutmeg, cloves and mace which were brought from the interior and from the neighboring Spice Islands, the present day Moluccas or Maluku.

The existence of Makassar was finally declined as the growing power of the Dutch in the region, and the more capable they were applying the spice trading as they want. In 1669, the Netherlands, along with La Tenri Tatta Arung Palakka and several royal Dutch allies conducting attacks on the Islamic twin kingdoms of Gowa-Tallo which they regard as the biggest barrier to control the spices in eastern Indonesia. Since 2004 the city of Makassar has started the qualified construction of public facilities. These are based on the slogan of the city, Makassar Great Expectation City.

Makassar has several famous traditional foods. The most famous is Coto Makassar. It is a stew made from the mixture of nuts and spices with beef parts which include beef brain, tongue and intestine.
In addition, Makassar is the home of pisang epe, or pressed bananas. These are bananas which are pressed, grilled, and covered with palm sugar sauce and sometimes eaten with Durian. Many street vendors sell pisang epe, especially around the area of Losari beach.

Makassar has lots of tourism destinations like, the famouse Losari beach, Fort Rotterdam, Akarena beach, Laelae island, Khayangan island, Samalona island, Fort Sombaopu, Barombong beach, Tallo Kings Cemetery, Sjekh Jusuf cemetery, Paotere harbour,Trans Studio (the biggest Indoor Theme Park).

Mandala monument, Somba Opu, Prince Diponegoro cemetery, 40.000 victims cemetery, China town and many more.
Makassar people or Makassar tribe is an ethnic malay people who live in Makassar or along the south coast of Sulawesi island. Makassar ethnic is ethnic conquerors yet democratic in the rule, fond of war and great at sea. At 14-17 Century, within the symbol of the Kingdom of Gowa, they managed to form a vast empire with a large naval force to succeed in building an Islamic empire, start from the entire Sulawesi Island, East Kalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, Brunei, Papua and northern Australia.

Talking about Makassar is also referring to the Bugis ethnic group which closely allied. Bugis and Makassar, is a term made by the Dutch that want to divide these two tribes. Makassar is known to be The Daeng City, there are differentiation about the meaning of Daeng between Makassar people and Bugis people. In the tradition of the Bugis ethnic group, the word “Daeng” is only used as a greeting to the person who said older, whether male or female. While, in Makassar tribe culture, the word “Daeng” beside as a greeting to the elders, it also serve as an additional name that has been taken since aqiqah.

In the ancient Makassar tribe was known three social stratums or caste. The highest caste is Karaeng or nobles who had several more sub-castes. The next caste is To Maradeka or free man (ordinary men).

The lowest caste is Ata caste or a slave. Only the people who come from caste Karaeng and To Maradeka can give the name of “paddaengang” to their offspring. Meanwhile, Ata caste has no right using the name paddaengang.

How to get there
As an important airline hub, Makassar is served by many Indonesian airlines flying from busy cities like Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali, using Makassar both as final destination or transit airport. Most airlines continue to Manado, the Moluccas or onward to Papua to the airports of Biak, Jayapura, Manokwari, Sorong and Merauke.

Airlines serving Makassar include: Garuda Indonesia, Air Asia, Batavia Air, Lion Air, Merpati and Sriwijaya Air.
Other small airlines like Express Air serve flights between Makassar and Ternate, and to Jayapura.

There is no public bus at Makassar Airport but you can take the free shuttle bus which will take you to the main road. There you can get on a bemo (Rp 4000) to Makassar Mall in downtown Makassar. The shuttle bus departs on the lower level on the far right side. If you arrive late in the evening it can take a long time before it departs though. Alternatively you can take a taxi. Taxis to the city booked at the taxi stand have the fixed price of Rp 100.000. You can try to get a taxi direct from the driver but it will not be much cheaper. They will offer you Rp 70.000 but then it does not include the toll fee.