Thousands Of US Citizens Take Cultural Tours At The Indonesian Embassy In Washington Building

JAKARTA - More than 5,100 Americans visited the Indonesian Embassy in Washington DC on Saturday (6/5) as part of the "Around The World Embassy Tour" (AWET) program initiated by the DC Events organization.

The Indonesian Embassy in Washington participated in the tour program by providing Indonesian cultural insight to visitors in celebration of "International Culture Awareness Month".

"Alhamdulillah, it is very crowded. This shows the high interest of US citizens in Indonesia," said Indonesian Ambassador to AS Rosan Roeslani at the event, as quoted by Antara.

The event, he said, was aimed at strengthening Indonesia-US relations among the local community and increasing the interest of US tourists to come to Indonesia.

Thousands of US citizens took turns visiting the Indonesian Embassy building, which was listed as one of the historic buildings there, on the tour which was held at 10.00-16.00.

In addition, they were given an introduction to Indonesian culture through dances, music, and culinary arts, as well as Indonesia's leading tourism.

They also had the opportunity to participate in batik activities and pencak silat exercises.

The building occupied by the Indonesian Embassy was formerly known as Walsh Mansion. The 120-year-old building was built in 1903 by Thomas F. Walsh, the owner of a gold mine in Colorado and one of the richest people in the US.

In the building, visitors can see a replica of Hope Diamond, a 45-carat blue diamond previously owned by Evalyn Walsh-McLean, Thomas Walsh's son.

AWET is part of DC Passport activities and has become Washington DC's most popular annual cultural tourism event.

This year, more than 60 foreign embassies in Washington DC participated to showcase the culture of their respective countries.

The Indonesian Embassy last participated in the event in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.