[7] The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multicultural metropolis, acting as a financial centre for Sumatra and a gateway to the western part of Indonesia.

About 60% of the economy in North Sumatra is backed by trading, agriculture, and processing industries,[8] including exports from its 4 million acres of palm oil plantations.

The National Development Planning Agency listed Medan as one of the four main central cities in Indonesia, alongside Jakarta, Surabaya, and Makassar.

The oldest evidence of this term used to refer to the city dates back to c. 13th-15th century during the reign of Aru, the Karo monarch.

[21] In the sixteenth century, Guru Patimpus Sembiring Pelawi, a Karonese man from the Karo Regency, converted from Pemena to Islam.

While traveling to study under Datuk Kota Bangun, Guru Patimpus met and married the Princess of Pulo Brayan [id].

Following that, Medan came under the authority of the South East Asia Command led by British Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten.

[25] Medan continued to grow as a centre of commerce during the reign of Amaluddin Al Sani Perkasa Alamsyah [id].

Developments of the 1970s, especially palm oil and rubber plantations, made Medan the busiest city outside Java, with the transmigration program bringing many Javanese and Batak migrants.

The next day, the mobs became bigger, and many shops and vehicles in the business district (mostly owned by Chinese residents) were burned and looted.

The natural harbor formed where the Deli and Babura rivers feed into the straits has contributed to Medan's growth as a trading port.

[citation needed] Medan features a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen: Af) with no real dry season.

The dominant ethnic groups in Medan are Batak and Javanese, with smaller Malays, Acehnese, Indian, Nias, and Sundanese populations.

The Toba, whom the Dutch employed on their oil palm plantations, live in Marindal and Amplas, or in nearby city centres such as the Medan Perjuangan district.

The large Javanese community in Medan is primarily composed of the descendants of people transported from Java in the 19th century to be employed as contract workers at various plantations in North Sumatra.

Starting in the 18th century, they began to spread throughout the city, with large numbers living in Medan Maimun, Kota Matsum, Labuhan and Belawan and speaking Malay.

The city's oldest church, Medan Cathedral, on Jalan Pemuda, was originally built as Indische Kerk by the Dutch and Indian community.

Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni, a Catholic church in an Indo-Mogul style, was built on Jalan Sakura III in 2005, dedicated to a Marian apparition in 17th century Tamil Nadu.

As a major commercial and economic hub of Indonesia, Medan is a centre for the production and trade of commodities including cinnamon, tobacco, tea, coffee, rubber, and palm oil.

Medan's location makes it the main hub of international trade in western Indonesia, with exports going to Europe, North America, and the Middle East.

[44] Many multinational companies maintain offices in the city, such as Asian Agri,[45] London Sumatra,[46] Musim Mas,[47] Philips Lighting, Toba Pulp Lestari, Marriott, Wilmar, ABB Group and DBS Bank.

Babi Panggang Karo, grilled pork dipped in blood curd, may be served with sambal andaliman made from local peppers.

Tau Kua He Ci (豆干虾炸) is a local Chinese variant of rojak, made with fried prawn, vegetables, tofu, and chili sauce.

Prominent instances include the old City Hall, the Medan Post Office, Inna Dharma Deli Hotel, Titi Gantung bridge, the Lonsum [id] building, the Tjong A Fie Mansion, the A.V.R.O.S.

[50] The North Sumatra Museum, located south of the city's centre, was formally opened in April 1982 by Daoed Joesoef [id], Minister of Education and Culture.

Located at 8 Jalan H. Zainul Arifin, the museum houses a number of historic weapons used in the 1958 revolt in North Sumatra, and displays paintings of the rebellion against the Netherlands.

The Port of Belawan is on the northeast coast of Sumatra, 19 km (12 mi) north of Medan and accessible by a railway across the channel south of the island.

The growth of northern Sumatra's rubber and palm oil plantations in the early twentieth century brought new developments to the port.

The second, Belawan International Container Terminal (BICT), is used for export and import services, and is one of the largest shipping industry ports in Indonesia.

The city also has a number of smaller stations, including Medan Pasar, Pulu Brayan, Titi Papan, Labuhan, and Belawan.