It’s almost inevitable that the cities in the Spice Routes knots had a port. They mainly played a role as access for the maritime transport used in the trade era in the past. It showed in Medan, North Sumatra, that centuries ago, it was known as a glorious trading city, particularly with the existence of Labuhan Deli Seaport.

Labuhan Deli, as the main port in 1814 AD, played a role as a gateway for cultural and trade commodities exchanges brought by the traders across nations. The commercial transaction passed down cultural acculturations, architectures, religions, culinary, art, and many more.

As a multi-ethnic city in Indonesia, Medan has a heterogeneous society, consisting of people from various cultural and religious backgrounds. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, it results from the encounter of different ethnicities and nations during the spice trade era.

Today, Medan is the gateway to enter Indonesia from the west. The two big ports still exist, Belawan Port and Bandara Kuala Namu. What are other traces of Spice Routes that we can find in North Sumatra today?

Find out the answer in the the “The Trace of Spice Routes in the Trading City of North Sumatra” video above!