Kuto Besak ("Great Fortress" in Palembang Malay) is an eighteenth-century kraton — a fortified Malay palace — overlooking the Musi River just west of the Ampera Bridge. Construction began in 1780 under Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin I and took seventeen years; the walls of stone and laterite are the only surviving sultanate fortress in Indonesia built entirely without Dutch construction help.
The interior is still used by the Indonesian military and is not generally accessible to visitors, but the outside is wonderful: thick whitewashed walls, a single grand gate facing the river, and a large esplanade in front that comes alive in the evening with food carts and families. Combine it with the Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Museum next door.