TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Qatari cyclists amazed by the beauty of Indonesian nature, people
Change Size
The Foreign Ministry’s Director of Asia Pacific and African Affairs Directorate General Bagus Hendraning Kobarsyih (right), Qatari State Minister Hamad Al-Kawari (second right), Qatari Ambassador to Indonesia Fawziya Edress Salman Al-Sulaiti (second left) and Qatari cyclist and Qatar-Indonesia 2023 Year of Culture ambassador Ali bin Towar (left).
Q
atari cyclists joining CultuRide 2023, a 93-kilometer cycling tour from Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta province, to Magelang, Central Java, expressed amazement on the beauty of the Indonesian nature and people they passed by during the tour.
As many as 16 Qatari cyclists, including Lolwa al-Marri, the first Qatari woman to finish Ironman Hamburg, covering 228 kilometers of swimming, cycling and running through the city of Hamburg, joined the tour held on Wednesday to celebrate the Qatar-Indonesia 2023 Year of Culture.
Some 100 Indonesian cyclists also joined the event. Among them was Tabitha Sumendap, founder of the Jakarta-based Women’s Cycling Community (WCC).
“I was astonished by the beauty of this country,” Qatari cyclist Ali Jaham Mohammed al-Kawari said after finishing the tour at the finish line near the world heritage Borobudur temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the world.
He said he was very much honored to join the event, adding that it really portrayed the meaning of cultural exchange and was a better way to explore the city, cycling in the streets among the local people with his fellow Qatari cyclists.
“Of the many events all over the world, this is one of the best in terms of organization, fun and beauty,” said Ali Jaham Mohammed al-Kawari, who is also president of the Qatar Cycling Federation.
Another Qatari cyclist, Ali bin Towar, expressed the same, saying that through the event he could really feel the culture.
He said that as he cycled along the 93-kilometer route from Vredeburg Fort in Yogyakarta to the Borobudur temple in Magelang, he found himself conversing with local cyclists. After three to four minutes of conversation, they exchanged phone numbers, Instagram accounts and Twitter accounts, thus they no longer were strangers to one another.
He added that he and his team of cyclists would become “new ambassadors” for Indonesia, who would tell their families, friends and the people of Qatar in general about how amazing Indonesia was.
“I can’t believe that I see this beauty,” said Ali bin Towar, who is also ambassador of the Qatar-Indonesia 2023 Year of Culture.
He said he had been to 81 countries and cycled in 67 countries around the world. Being in Indonesia and cycling on the streets and countryside was a highlight for him that made him see the hidden beauty of Indonesia.
“I think I will be a different person when I go back,” continued Ali bin Towar, who also expressed his thanks for having the opportunity to visit Indonesia.
He said he would come back to Indonesia next month for a documentary project on Indonesia that would be aired to the wider public through the Qatari national television.
“I have to highlight Indonesia more. I have to understand how the people of Indonesia live in peaceful and amazing diversity. This is a lesson, not only for us, but also for the entire planet, I believe,” he said, underlining the importance not to underestimate the Year of Culture initiative.
The Qatar-Indonesia 2023 Year of Culture celebrates the friendship and collaboration between both countries, where both share their heritage, values, traditions and contemporary innovations. When Qatari and Indonesian cultures come together, a rich past meets a bright future.
Speaking at the kickoff ceremony for CultuRide 2023 at Vredeburg Fort, Yogyakarta Deputy Governor KGPAA Paku Alam X, on behalf of Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, said the Yogyakarta provincial administration was honored to be a part of the events held for the Qatar-Indonesia 2023 Year of Culture.
In response, State Minister of Qatar Hamad al-Kawari expressed his hope that the Qatar-Indonesia 2023 Year of Culture program would be able to strengthen the relationship between both countries, saying that the program was specially held in Indonesia.
The Qatar-Indonesia 2023 Year of Culture is the 12th annual Year of Culture program developed by Qatar Museums as an international cultural exchange that deepens understanding between nations and their people.
Indonesia is the first country in the Southeast Asia region to have this program. Previous Year of Culture exchanges included Japan (2012), the United Kingdom (2013), Brazil (2014), Turkey (2015), China (2016), Germany (2017), Russia (2018), India (2019), France (2020), the United States (2021) and the MENASA countries (2022).
Hamad al-Kawari added that upon coming to Indonesia he realized what he had heard about Indonesia was not fiction. He said this year was just the beginning of strengthening relations in all aspects, which was the target behind the Year of Culture program.
“We believe that Indonesia is a very promising country [...] So, needless to say, if we are going to start with the Southeast Asian region, Indonesia is the country that you have to start with,” Hamad al-Kawari told journalists after greeting the cyclists at the finish line on the grounds of the Borobudur temple.
The Foreign Ministry’s Director of Asia Pacific and African Affairs Directorate General Bagus Hendraning Kobarsyih expressed appreciation to Qatar’s delegates and all the participants who joined the event, which he saw as a milestone for good cooperation between Indonesia and Qatar.
He said Wednesday’s event was a good sign that could be followed up with many kinds of cooperation in the future. “The Foreign Ministry is ready to collaborate and enhance our cooperation in various fields, including in the field of culture, economy, investment, trade, tourism and others,” Bagus said.
