MATARAM

"My plan for today was to cycle to Mataram, the biggest city on Lombok, after the rain that got worse in the course of the morning and to take a look at it.
The Mataram Shopping Mall, the Pura Mayura, a Balinese Hindu temple, the Cakra market, the large new mosque on the outside and the port of Ampenan.
On a map I had planned a nice round where I wanted to cycle as much as possible via smaller roads and between the fields so that I could take some pictures and, what I found particularly important, avoid the deafening, busy roads. I did not hope to get lost, because if you ask for directions here, they usually send you in the wrong direction."

Lombok

          Mataram (actually: Kota Mataram) is the capital of Lombok. It is a fairly large city with about half a million inhabitants; suburbs included (Ampenan, Cakranegara). Despite the fact that many sites write negative about Mataram, I still want to stay positive. At the bottom you will find a video about Mataram, so that you can make your own judgment.
Mataram is the most important city in Lombok, when it comes to government, education, economy, services and industry. Many tourists sniff around the markets and in the Mataram Mall, a modern and well-equipped shopping centre. In this district is the commercial centre of the city. However, the latest shopping mall is the Epicentre. This mall opened its doors in 2015.
Although Muslims are by far the majority in the city, a significant proportion of the inhabitants is also of Chinese origin. A minority of the inhabitants is Hindu. These differences of cultures can be found in the city in the form of temples and shops.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Cakranegara was the seat of the crown prince of Karangasem on East Bali. Several Hindu temples were built on Lombok during this period. In 1849 Ampenan was an important port of Lombok. Ampenan then fell under the authority of the Balinese king Anak Agung. Mataram and Cakranegara were important cities. with large royal palaces. If the Sasak invoke the help of the Dutch against the Balinese, Mataram is destroyed. Cakranegara would be the last Balinese fortress to be conquered. The court of Cakranegara massively committed suicide by storming the heavily armed Dutch troops. In and around the city during the Dutch domination large and gruesome battles were fought. In the city you can still find some memories of this.

You can also find in this capital the legacy of the Dutch, who during the V.O.C. era have kept a lot to suppress the insurgents. The city of Mataram is not very busy and very touristy, but you can certainly have a good time there.
Of the many, nice markets of Mataram, Kebon Roek is the busiest in Ampenan. On this market it is full of stalls all day and night, where food and household items are sold. The market in Cakranegara (pronounced: Sjakanegara) is a little less hectic.
There are two shopping canters in Mataram Mall and the Epicenter. In the Epicenter are numerous restaurants, bubble tea stands, confectioners, donut cafes, Starbucks, Coffeebean, Guardian Drugstore, body shop, bookstores, shoe stores, and so on. On the top floor there is a Food Court and on the ground floor a Hypermarket (with supermarket and department store articles).
The best supermarket for craft products is the Sayang Sayang Art Market. You will also find ikat stores (textile) and pearl shops in town. These are the most expensive in the city and slightly cheaper in the suburbs.

Epicentre Shopping Mall

In Ampenan and Mataram there are craft and antique shops where you can buy all kinds of artifacts from Lombok and other eastern islands. These are nice shops where you can buy amulets, wooden boxes and different types of textiles. In Ampenan you will find many shops owned by ethnic Chinese in the main street. In Cakranegara, in addition to souvenir shops, you also have a number of weaving mills where you can buy traditional ikat fabrics. You can also see how the ikats are made.
Lombok is known for its brightly coloured patterns on the local songket fabrics. Embossed patterns of gold or silver wire are then applied to a surface of cotton or silk. Especially in the south of Cakranegara lies the village of Sukarare. In this village traditional weavers make the most beautiful song-chain clothes. The techniques, patterns and motifs are handed down from generation to generation.