Depok

About Depok

Depok spreads along the Ciliwung River directly south of Jakarta and is one of the largest cities of the capital's metropolitan area. It became a separate city in 1999, but its story begins in 1696, when Cornelis Chastelein, an official of the Dutch East India Company, bought land here for plantations. In his will of 1714 he freed the enslaved families who worked it and left them his land, and their descendants formed a distinctive Christian community whose old church and houses still stand in Old Depok.

Today Depok is best known for education and for one spectacular mosque. The main campus of the University of Indonesia, the country's most prestigious university, occupies a large green area of lakes and woods in the north of the city, and the gold-domed Dian Al-Mahri Mosque attracts visitors from across Indonesia.

Long shopping streets and malls line Jalan Margonda Raya, the city's main artery. Commuter trains link Depok to central Jakarta and Bogor, making it easy to explore as a half-day or day trip from the capital.