JAKARTA - The Baiturrahman Banda Aceh Grand Mosque is always visited by foreign tourists from various countries along with the XXI Aceh-North Sumatra National Sports Week (PON).
Head of the UPTD Business Administration Sub-Division for the Management of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Banda Aceh, Mukhtar, said that every day there are always foreign tourists visiting.
He admitted that the UPTD for the Management of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Banda Aceh, did not specifically record and entrain foreign tourist arrival data.
"However, we have a WhatsApp group that reports any foreign tourist visits. Those who report officers at the sandal storage entrance," he said, quoting Antara.
The Baiturrahman Banda Aceh Grand Mosque has six entrances, and one of them is on the underground floor.
"So the officer reports in the WA group, there are tourists who want to visit. If they are non-Muslims, we will prepare special clothes and they are not allowed to enter the mosque," he said.
However, he said, they were allowed to tour around the area and courtyard of the mosque, including enjoying the view from the top of the tower, and having the guide prepared if they wanted.
"Those who are not allowed to enter (non-Muslims, ed.) are only in the mosque. We serve them well, for non-Muslims to be prepared with clothes (covering the aurat). We need a guide, we will be directed and explained," said Mukhtar.
Along with the Aceh-North Sumatra 2024 National Sports Week (PON), the mosque which was built in 1612 or 1022 H under the leadership of Sultan Iskandar Muda from the Sultanate of Aceh Darussalam is also increasingly crowded with tourists, including foreign tourists.
"During this PON, there are also many (visitors, ed.), there are also foreign tourists. There are five people per day. There are various kinds, there are from Germany, Africa, Arabia, then Asia like China, Japan, Malaysia. From Malaysia, you can say that every day there are," said Mukhtar.
Meanwhile, Antara also had the opportunity to meet a foreign tourist couple, Paul Swampillai and Kim Godbold, who happened to be enjoying the beauty of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Banda Aceh.
Paul is from Srilanka and his wife from Australia is indeed the first time to visit the mosque which is the icon of Banda Aceh City.
He admitted that before deciding to take a vacation to Aceh, he was worried about the implementation of sharia law, but it turned out to be far from what he had imagined so far, especially since the people were very friendly and tolerant.
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Incidentally, they are non-Islamic so they are not allowed to enter the mosque and must wear the clothes that have been prepared. Paul appears to be wearing a kind of long sarong, while Kim is dressed in aurat with a headscarf.
Even though they are Christians, they respect other religions so much that they often visit various places of worship of other religions that are iconic when traveling.
Previously, they also visited many beautiful mosques, such as in Iran, Turkey, to Syria, and the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Banda Aceh, which according to him is one of the most beautiful mosques.
In fact, Paul really likes the black dome that looks majestic at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Banda Aceh and wants to return to visit him someday.
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