Lombok's overlooked capital — Sasak food culture, the Mayura water palace, and the last Balinese Hindu enclave in a Muslim island
Mataram is the capital of Lombok and the third-largest city in Indonesia's lesser-explored Nusa Tenggara region — a city that most travellers transit through on the way to the Gili Islands or Mount Rinjani without stopping, which is their loss. Mataram's Ampenan district (the old Dutch colonial port town) has a wonderfully ramshackle charm; the Mayura Water Palace is a 1744 Balinese Hindu court complex in the middle of the city; and the city's Pasar Mandalika and Pasar Kebon Roek markets offer one of the most authentic and affordable Sasak food experiences in Indonesia — ayam taliwang (Lombok…
Mataram's area was the seat of the Mataram Hindu kingdom of Lombok (distinct from the Javanese Mataram Sultanate) before the Balinese Karangasem kingdom conquered Lombok in the 17th century. The Balinese rule left behind the Mayura Water Palace and the Pura Meru temple complex. In 1891 the Sasak Muslim population rebelled against Balinese rule and invited the Dutch to intervene — the Dutch conquered Lombok in 1894 and incorporated it into the Dutch East Indies. Mataram was established as the administrative capital of Lombok province after Indonesian independence and has grown into a sprawling…