My name is Adil Albatati, one of the youths living in Kampung Arab, an old town district in Surabaya, with hundreds of heritage buildings and myriad of cultures. I am a third generation Yemen Arab—my father and mother were born in Surabaya, while my grandparents from my father side came from Yemen. They arrived around early 1900s, the years of great migration of Arab people from Hadhramaut (South Yemen) to Indonesia. My siblings and I, however, were born in Jeddah, while my parents were working in the airport.

In this video, I will walk you through my neighbourhood. From my home in Kalimas Udik, we’ll have a hearty breakfast of gule maryam at K.H. Mas Mansyur Street. I’ll show you the school I went to, Sekolah Al-Irsyad, at Jl. Ampel Maghfur 22, a school founded and funded by Yayasan Al-Irsyad, the same foundation that run Hotel Kemadjuan. We’ll meet friendly locals, see an assortment of homemade perfumes, prayer beads (tasbih), nuts and dates, religious books and comics. We’ll stop by a barber and a secondhand clothing. (No, they’re not my wardrobe secret.) The various people and things you can find from your morning stroll in Kampung Arab Surabaya.

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