The cultural capital of Java

The Hindu publishes a travel piece on Yogjakarta, the cultural capital of Java, which is also a good starting base for visiting the archaeologicaql sites of Prambanan and Borobudur.

Intimations of Royalty
The Hindu, 06 September 2008

Yogyakarta is the heart of a historical landscape whose temples are rivalled only by the Angkor complex of Cambodia. All Southeast Asian art forms, from temple building to puppetry, batik and the music of gamelan orchestras, have found perfection here. Reason enough to spend at least a couple of days in the city, which is often dubbed the cultural capital of Java.

We set off for the Prambanan temple complex a few minutes after landing at Yogyakarta. The shrines were heavily damaged in an earthquake two years ago and are still being restored by the Indonesian government. The quake left intricately carved and carefully restored reliefs lying on the ground and destroyed years of restoration work in less than a minute. Some of the entrances were entirely blocked by debris.

Related Books:
– Worshiping Siva and Buddha: The Temple Art of East Java by A. R. Kinney, M. J. Klokke and L. Kieven
– The Restoration of Borobudur (World Heritage Series)
– The Mysteries of Borobudur: Discover Indonesia Series by J. N. Miksic
– The Kraton: Selected Essays on Javanese Courts (Translation Series (Koninklijk Instituut Voor Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde (Netherlands)), 28.)
– Yogyakarta Insight Pocket Guide