At the foothill of Merapi lies ancient monuments,covered with ashes and rediscovered in 1814. Borobudur temple, the largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia was abandoned during the decline of the Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java in 14th century. At that time the Islam becomes the main religion of the country.
The main dome, located at the top platform is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues
The temple, built in the 9th century, comprises of three circular platforms decorated with more than 2,000 relief panels and over 500 Buddha statues. The temple underwent through several restorations, the last of which was carried out between 1975 and 1982. The construction of Borobudur took 75 years and was built between 760 and 830. The temple is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The construction took 75 years to be completed
Another temple, declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO stands just a few kilometers from Borobudur. Prambanan is Indonesia’s largest religious heritage with more than 200 buildings inside the complex.
Prambanan consists of three main buildings located up a main courtyard, symbols of the triumph of Hinduism
The Prambanan temple is also known as Roro Djonggrang. According to the legent, prince Bondovoso fell in love with princess Roro Djonggrang. But the beautiful princess didn’t want to merry him so she came up with a plan to get rid of the obligation to marry the prince. Roro Djonggrang made the prince to build a temple of a thousand statues and he had to complete the task in one night. The prince started the construction and with the help of good spirits he was almost done with the task. The frightened princes ordered to her staff to set a fire on the horizon and in this way to trick the prince into thinking the sun has risen. The prince, who had already built 999 statues thought the fire was the sun rice and quit. When he learned what the princes did he cursed her, turning the princess into the last statue in the temple of his
unfortunate love.
The complex has over 200 buildings completed in the traditional Asian architecture.
The beauty of Yogyakarta can not be described,one must see, feel and experien it. Every corner of the Indonesian city has its own story that tells the tale of the times when life was filled with magic.
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