Yogyakarta is a bustling little city in central Java, almost equidistant from Indonesian capital Jakarta and the well known tourist destination Bali. It has been given the status of special province and its ruler Sultan Hamengku Buwono X is also its governor.
The enchantment of the place is in its obscurity and the fact that it is not so well known. Even the travel agent in Jeddah was not aware of its existence. However, all that is likely to change soon and Yogyakarta is expected to gain its rightful place on the world tourist map thanks to the highly successful ASEAN Tourism Forum 2002 which was held late last month at the newly constructed Jogja Exhibition Center.
Yogyakarta is situated at the foot of a 2,914 meter-high active volcano appropriately called Fire Mountain or Merapi and is the seat of the once mighty Javanese empire of Mataram, Ngayogyakarto Hadiningrat.
The city of about four million people came into being in 1755, when a land dispute split the power of Mataram into the Sultanates of Yogyakarta and Surakarta (Solo).
The Sultan’s Palace or Kraton of Yogyakarta was built by Sultan Hamengku Buwono I at this time and he used it as a focus to build the most powerful Javanese state since the 17th century.
"The Sultan’s Palace is still the hub of Yogyakarta’s traditional life and despite the advance of 20th century modernity, it still radiates the spirit of refinement which has been the hallmark of its art for centuries," according to a website on Yogyakarta.
The palace court with its grand and elegant Javanese architecture lies in the center of the city. It was founded by Prince Mangkubumi in 1755. The prince was then called Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono I. He chose the right location of the compound between the Winongo River and the Code River.
The palace stretches out from north to south. The front yard is called Alun-alun Utara (the North Square) and the backyard is called Alun-alun Selatan (the South Square). The layout of the buildings shows that the palace, the commemorative column and Mount Merapi lie in on line.
The palace meeting hall is called the Pagelaran, where formal meetings of palace officials are held, while the "Manguntur Tangkil" hall is the place where the Sultan is seated.
The palace visitors can enjoy the atmosphere of the kraton in former times by visiting the lifesize diorama of wedding ceremonies on the palace meeting, performed by puppets which are intentionally arranged to create such an atmosphere.
Yogyakarta is one of the supreme cultural centers of Java. "Full Gamelan orchestras create visions from the past, classical and contemporary Javanese dances exhibit beautiful control and poise, wayang kulit — leather puppet theaters — come to life and hundreds of other traditional illustrations of art keep locals and visitors spellbound. It is as if the city itself has an extraordinary life force and charm which seldom fails to captivate," says the site.
Contemporary art has also grown in the fertile soil of Yogyakarta’s cultural and sophisticated society. ASRI, the Academy of Fine Arts, for example, is the center of arts in the region and Yogyakarta itself has given its name to an important school of modern painting in Indonesia, perhaps best illustrated by the renowned impressionist, the late Affandi.
The province is one of the most densely populated areas of Indonesia and is the main gateway to the center of Java where it is geographically located. It stretches from mighty Mount Merapi to the north down to the powerful Indian Ocean to the south.
Borobudur is considered as one of the seven wonders of the world. Constructed with about 2 million cubic ft (57,000 cubic meters) of gray volcanic stone, it resembles a stepped pyramid. Its base and first five terraces are square; the highest three terraces are circular. Borobudur was built by Sanmaratungga in the 8th century under the Shailendra Dynasty, and belongs to Buddha Mahayana. Borobudur was discovered by Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles in 1814. The monument was found in ruined condition and was totally buried under volcanic ash and mud.
The site underwent restoration from 1905 to 1910, and the last restoration was done from 1973 to 1983 under UNESCO. Reliefs on its terrace walls represent the ascending stages of enlightenment. The simple and spacious upper circular terraces carry 72 bell-shaped stupas.
The sunriser Borobudur tour is one of the most exciting parts of a visit to Yogyakarta. We are picked up at 4 a.m. from the hotel. The drive to the monument takes about 45 minutes.
As we climb up the stairs to reach the top of the monument, it is already bright but the sun has yet to emerge and the Merapi on the left at about 15 kilometers has left a trail of white smoke coming out of its peak.
Merapi’s last eruption was in 1999 and in one of the earlier ones as many as 60 people died. It is a few days after the Guam volcano destruction and a chill goes down my spine as I think about what would happen if Merapi were to erupt just now!
Mercifully, the sun slowly emerges like a fireball in all its majesty and I get totally engrossed in the beautiful surroundings to forget about volcanic eruptions. Our guide Imam takes us around narrating the tales from the reliefs.
In the end I get a certificate from the Borobudur management saying that I had climbed the monument.
Yogyakarta is also the center of learning for Indonesia with 83 colleges and the oldest university in the country. Virginia Iswarani is one of the local guides assigned to look after the transport of the media personnel at ATF 2002. She has just graduated in biology and is now looking for a scholarship to continue her masters studies. "My father retired from service in Jakarta and decided to settle down here because it is a quiet and peaceful place," she says.
The most popular mode of transport seems to be motorcycles judging by their swarming presence on the roads. And the cycle rickshaw has the driver at the back. Another interesting characters I notice on the roads are parking guides. They are found in front of all big shops and help the drivers in parking their vehicles.
Batik and silverware are two of the most popular objects sought by tourists. Marlioboro Street is full of shops selling souvenirs. Mirota Batik is the most trustworthy shop to do your shopping.
Yogyakarta has a Pizza Hut and a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet. A combo meal of two big pieces of chicken and a bowl of boiled rice costs less than SR10.
Now that it has a world class venue for international meetings and seminars and its airport is being upgraded to receive international flights, Yogyakarta is sure to emerge as a major center of tourism in the years to come.
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(Garuda flies to Jakarta from Jeddah twice a week.)
