Tidore # 8 – Torre, The Portuguese Heritage in Tidore

 

Still remember, that Kadato Kie, Kedaton Sultanate Tidore flanked by 2 pieces of fort? This time I will tell you about the Fort of Torre, because the Fort of Tahula I have told you before. The fort of Torre lies slightly behind Kadato Kie. Precisely behind the tomb of Kapitalau and the tomb of Sultan Zainal Abidin Syah. About 30 minutes when we start from Rum Port.

 

The fort of Torre is a Portuguese heritage fortress built on the orders of Sancho de Vasconcelos (source from Documenta Malucensia Book) after obtaining permission from Sultan Gapi Baguna (16^th Sultan of Tidore, 1586-1600) on 6 January 1578. This permission was obtained after the Portuguese were expelled from Ternate by Sultan Baabullah Khairun in 1570 for killing Sultan Khairun.

 

The name of the fort is estimated to be taken from the name of the then Portuguese captain, Hernando de la Torre. Fortress of Torre used to be used by the Portuguese for the defense of their families as rulers, due to the tight competition of monopoly of spice trade, especially Clove in Tidore, between Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese and Dutch.

 

The Torre fort is located at a fairly high location. There are dozens of steps to climb to reach the fort building. The front of the fort is facing directly to Halmahera Island, while the back faces to Mount Kie Marijang. Until now, the Fort Torre has undergone two stages of restoration, namely:

(1) In 2012, the restoration includes the manufacture of stairs, the reconstruction of part of the wall on the Southwest side, the southeast side and the reconnaissance space;
(2) In 2013, the restoration includes the reconstruction of the advanced wall of the Southeast and Southwest sides, the reconstruction of the northeast side wall, the reconstruction of part of the Northwest side wall and the arrangement of the environment.
The Northwest side wall was reconstructed partly because the structure of the wall was disconnected and no structure was found in the surrounding area after excavation. The restoration was carried out on the basis of a technical study conducted by BPCB Ternate (Balai Peninggalan Purbakala Ternate) stating that the Fort Fortress suffered severe damage and the structure of the castle only left about 30%, so it must be immediately restored to avoid further damage of the fort.

That afternoon when I arrived at the Fort Torre, the atmosphere around it was not so quiet. Some local people are seen in the field in front of the staircase that serves as access to reach the fort. I climbed the cement staircase provided to reach the main building of the castle, with large stones arranged haphazardly on the right and left side of the stairs, and dense trees enough to block the sunlight is still quite hot. If at Fort Tahula we have to climb about 123 steps, in the Fort Torre is fewer in number, only a few dozen steps.

 

 

 

Climbing the stairs, I arrived on a path about 1.2 meters wide, made of cement. To the right and left a gazeebo that can be used to rest while enjoying the sea view and Halmahera Island in the distance. Around the footpath looks a very neat and well-maintained garden, adding to the beauty of the Fort Torre.

 

 

 

Entering the main building of the Fort Torre, on the right side of the entrance there is a reconnaissance space directly facing the sea. This room is taller than the rest of the fort and can be reached by climbing several stone steps, this space is equipped with a reconnaissance window on the front side. On the left side is a stone path that will lead us to the rear of the fort. In the center of the fort there is a garden with a variety of flowers that were currently in bloom, Cambodia, Bougenvill, and many more. Walking the stone walkway to the back side of the fort, I found a semi-circular portion of the fort. It looks like a well with a depth of about 5 meters. This section is empty, in the bottom there is only grass. The more rearward, the building of the Fort Torre is increasingly uphill, following the contours of the hilly land. Mount Kie Marijang appears to stand firmly in the distance, dashing!

 

 

 

 

 

That afternoon, the Fort Torre looks very pretty. The afternoon sunshine refracts on the walls and courtyards of the fort. The blue sky and the rows of white clouds add to Tidore’s beautiful earth. The sun is increasingly leaning towards the west finally forced my feet to leave the fort. Leaving the beauty of past history that always amazes me and makes me a book lovers. It is true, the darkest of any history that ever happened, will surely be something that can be remembered.