March 19, 2026 | 10:08 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – A TRANQUIL afternoon shaded the man-made lake within the grounds of Pondok Pesantren (Islamic Boarding School) Hidayatullah in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. A boy of elementary school age stood fishing at the edge of the lake near a small teak grove. Nearby, a santri (Islamic boarding school student) waited for the time to break his fast.
The teak forest surrounding the lake forms part of the boarding school complex located in the area known as Gunung Tembak. The place carries that name—literally “Shooting Mountain”—because, according to local lore, it was once a site where people were dumped and executed.
Masykur Suyuti, Secretary of the Hidayatullah Islamic Boarding School Foundation, said the lake and the forest have existed since 1993, when he began studying at the school. One thing that has not changed, he explained, is the sight of students crowding the lake’s edge for their afternoon baths. At times they prefer bathing in the lake to using the dormitory bathrooms. “Especially after working in the garden or playing soccer on the field, they usually come together to bathe and swim in the lake,” he said.
Masykur said that since its establishment, the 138-hectare boarding school has embraced three guiding dimensions in its activities: Islamic, natural, and scientific (islamiah, alamiah, dan ilmiah). The Islamic-based school is widely known as a “green pesantren” and serves as something of an oasis amid the bustle of the industrial city of Balikpapan.
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