This heavy concrete stuff was the inner gate to the royal bathing
pool (ladies' only) of the early palace of the Javanese kings of
Mataram (see the 3rd page of History of Indonesia). It obviously is a historical site and at least a regional heritage that
badly needs a little attention in 21st century. And a lot of cash. 
Ibid. Kind of awesome still, even as the king no longer stays here
and moss reigns.
Wings, to be exact wings of the Indonesian semi-mythical eagle
called 'garuda' (in Javanese: 'garudho'), that has been made the
national coat of arms since 1945, has been characteristic as
decorative motifs that the Javanese put on anything since
before the first thousand years after Christ was said to have
been born near the Palestinian Liberation movement. 
Now you see why I said (see the previous page) that Javanese
and Indonesian never know 'grand architecture' after the people
who built ancient stone temples were sunken back to oblivion.
This is the front page of the long intrigues that made the Palace
of the Kingdom of Surakarta (Solo, Central Java); which was
supposed to hold the legacy of the mightiest Javanese empire,
Mataram (see History of Indonesia).
As far as I remember (because I was raised in this town), the
Palace has never failed to let me down, especially after I
mastered enough ABC's to read this word: "Versailles".
To make matters worse, the Solonese kings were deprived of
their special rights over the area because they made the wrong
choice in the War of Independence of the Republic of Indonesia
(click here). They, as far as the Republicans were concerned,
were sort of supporting the Dutch against the rest of the
island of Java.
So after Independence they lost any rights to rule, over the
territories, and so on, and did no better when the bureaucratic-
militaristic regime of General Suharto (the New Order,
1971-1998)
came to power, because, though Mrs. Suharto was a
Solonese nobleperson, she came from the rival house of
this king's, the Mangkunegaran Duchy (click here). 
A specimen of the uniformly bleak and damp entrails of the
Solonese king's Palace in 2002. In 2005, there was an ugly
succession
battle that ended up with two kings for this territorial-less
kingdom. 
Now this is the crest of the living and kicking Kingdom of
Yogyakarta's Sultans.
This kingdom separated itself from the Solonese mismanagement
in 18th century (click here). Its kings had always been better in downloading info of the politics of the times, so it survives
until this very minute as a real kingdom within the Republic of
Indonesia. Its Sultans have been the Governors of the territory,
that was designated as a province within the map of Indonesia
since the Independence.
It was the ninth Sultan of Yogya who supported the Republic
in its War of Independence against the Dutch Imperial Army and
Navy and the Allied Forces between 1945 and 1949.
In 1998, the tenth Sultan supported the so-called 'Reform Forces'
against the regime of General Suharto -- another right choice,
and helped to ensure the fall of the regime (click here). 
The front of the Yogyanese Palace is the pendhopo that I have
so wordily talked about earlier (see previous page), but its
function is of course not the same as ordinary citizen's living
room. 
The heavily decorated pillars supporting the elaborate ceiling
of the 'public' section of the Sultan's Palace. Tourists are
allowed
to go this far. The Sultan and all his family still live inside this
Palace,
so you obviously can't expect to knock open every door there.
This area is where the Sultan receives his 'public' guests during
events such as anniversary of his ascension, and yearly
festivals commemorating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad,
which are
called 'Sekaten' and held at the town's plaza which is actually
the Palace's 'front yard'. 
This is a corner of the same Palace. The man sitting there is one
of the hundreds of Palace attendants, whose job is to politely
shoo stray tourists away because from here on the place is not
open to the public, being the start of the real dwelling of the
Sultanate Family. 
ditto. 
This is the typical architectural design of the Yogyanese Palace's
ceilings. Quite a marvel, aye? 
This badly-needing-repair place used to be the Sultanate women's
bath in 18th century, named Tamansari (literal: 'The Garden of
Beauty').
There is no garden there in 21st century, and beauty seems to
have migrated to Paris Hilton, but the name stuck.
It's a tourist attraction though so far I have never seen any
tourist getting attracted -- despite the fact that they keep
coming there everyday. | 
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