Cristo Rei of Dili

Cristo Rei of Dili
Cristo Rei of Dili atop a summit overlooking the capitol of East Timor
Location	East Timor
Nearest city	Dili, East Timor
Coordinates	8°31′13″S 125°36′30″E / 8.52028°S 125.60833°E / -8.52028; 125.60833Coordinates: 8°31′13″S 125°36′30″E / 8.52028°S 125.60833°E / -8.52028; 125.60833

Cristo Rei of Dili or Christ the King of Dili is a 88.6 foot (27 m) tall statue of Jesus located atop a globe in Dili, East Timor. This statue was designed by Mochamad Syailillah, who is usually called Bolil. The statue was officially unveiled by Suharto in 1996 as gift from the Indonesian government to the East Timorese people. The statue has been one of the main tourist sites in East Timor.

The statue, and the globe on which it rests, are situated at the end of Fatucama peninsula facing out to the ocean and can be reached by climbing some 500 steps.^[1]

History

The idea of raising the Cristo Rei statue was proposed by José Abilio Osorio Soares (former Governor of Timor-Timur (Timor Leste) in Indonesian occupation) to Soeharto (former President of Republic Indonesia). The statue was intended as a present for the 20th anniversary of East Timor's Integration to Indonesia.

Soeharto appointed the Director of Garuda air to lead the project. Garuda was given the responsibility to find capital for funding the project which then prepared 1.1 Billion Rupiah (US$ 123,000),however it cannot affor sufficient fund for the total needs in setting up the statue. Then the contributions of East Timorese civil servants and businessmen able to complete the project which took the cost more than 5 Billion Rupiah (US$ 559,000).

It took almost a year of working to create the body of statue which was done in Sukaraja, Bandung, Indonesia. 30 crew workers were employed for the project. The body of statue was made with copper plate which separated into 27 pieces of components. These pieces are loaded into three trailer which then shipped to Dili. Reconstruction of the statue included the globe and a 10 meters high Cross took as long as three months.

Many East Timor resistance leaders criticised the construction of Cristo Rei statue. They said it was a politic propaganda of Jakarta to deceive East Timorese people. However, the greatness of the statue has eliminate all prejudices and it has become a landmark of Dili.

The statue was unveiled on 15 October 1996. MGR Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo,SDB with former President Soeharto and former Governor of Timor Timur (Timor-Leste) José Abilio Osorio Soares directly witnessed the splendor of this statue from the air using a helicopter. Link

See also

• List of statues by height

References

1. ^ Cox, Christopher, Tourism in Timor? Travel & Leisure, March 2004

External links

Media related to Cristo Rei of Dili at Wikimedia Commons