Tour Guide To Central Java Indonesia.

Tour Guide To Central Java Indonesia.

  Central Java is one of the thousands Beautiful Places in Indonesia The administrative capital is Semarang. It is one of six provinces on the island of Java. This province is the province of high Human Development in Indonesia . The province of Central Java is 39,800.69 km² in area; approximately a quarter of the total land area of Java. Its population was 30,380,687 at the 2010 Census, making it the third most-populous province in Indonesia after West Java and East Java, and constituting a bit less than one quarter of the crowded island's population.

 

 

Kendal Regency's Chief  Widya Kandi Susanti in Traditional honourable suits

Dieng Plateau Central Java

Dieng Plateau Central Java

Borobudur Temple"s Reliefs

Touring with Trail in Central Java

Emmanuel Church Semarang Central Java built since Dutch Colonialism era

Javanese Women in the Kitchen

Pouring Hot Water

Javanese Traditional House

Durian (Durio Zibentinus) lokal fruits from Central java..hmm Yummy

Pick Your own Durian

Durian Prince

Durian's Trader

Jeep Offroad on Mount Merapi

Jeep Offroad on Mount Merapi

Singing ala Java

Singing ala Java

Sunset at Java Island

Traditional Javanese Couple

Javanese Bride

Paddy's Farmers

Harvesting Paddies

Kaliurang Jogjakarta

Tugumuda Semarang to memorate a battle beetwen Japan and Semarang's Youth in World War II

Borobudur Temple @ National Geographic

Immanuel Church Semarang

Ribs baked ala Java

Goat's Satay ala Java

Prambanan Temple at night

         

                Central Java is also a cultural concept that includes the Special Area and city of Yogyakarta. However, administratively the city and surrounding region has been part of a separate special region since Indonesian independence.

Located in the middle of the island of Java, the Central Java province is bordered by West Java and East Java provinces. A small portion of its south region is the Yogyakarta Special Region province, fully enclosed on the landward side by the Central Java province. Yogyakarta is historically and culturally part of the Central Java region, although it is currently a separate political entity. To the north and the south, the Central Java province faces the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean. Central Java also includes offshore islands such as Karimun Jawa Islands in the north, and Nusakambangan in the southwest.

The average temperature in Central Java is between 18–28 degrees Celsius and the relative humidity varies between 73–94 percent.^[2] While a high level of humidity exists in most low lying parts of the province, it drops significantly in the upper mountains.^[2] The highest average annual rainfall of 3,990 mm with 195 rainy days was recorded in Salatiga.^[2]

                   The geography of Central Java is regular with small strips of lowlands near the northern and southern coast with mountain ranges in the centre of the region. To the west lies an active stratovolcano Mount Slamet, then a bit further to the east is the Dieng Volcanic Complex on the Dieng Plateau. At southeast of the Dieng plateau lies the high plateau of Kedu Plain, bordered on the east side by the twin volcanoes of Mount Merapi (the most active volcanoes in Indonesia) and Mount Merbabu. At the south of Semarang, lies Mount Ungaran, and to the north-east of the city lies Mount Muria on the most northern tip of Java. To the east near the border with East Java lies Mount Lawu, where its eastern slopes are in the East Java province.

Due to active volcanics history and therefore volcanic ash, Central Java is a very fertile region for agriculture. Sight of extensive paddy fields is common, except in the southeastern — Gunung Kidul region — partly due to the high concentration of limestone and its location in a rain shadow from the prevailing weather.

Two major rivers run through Central Java; the Serayu River in the west, which empties into the Indian Ocean, and the Solo River (Javanese: Bengawan Solo), which flows to the East Java province

Java has been inhabited by humans or their ancestors (hominina) since prehistorical times. In Central Java and the adjacent territories in East Java remains known as "Java Man" were discovered in the 1890s by the Dutch anatomist and geologist Eugène Dubois. Java Man belongs to the species Homo erectus^] They are believed to be about 1.7 millions years old.

Then about 40,000 years ago, Australoid peoples related to modern Australian Aboriginals and Melanesians colonised Central Java. They were assimilated or replaced by Mongoloid Austronesians by about 3000 BC, who brought with them technologies of pottery, outrigger canoes, the bow and arrow, and introduced domesticated pigs, fowls, and dogs. They also introduced cultivated rice and millet.

Recorded history began in Central Java in the 7th century AD. The writing, as well as Hinduism and Buddhism, were brought to Central Java by Indians from South Asia. Central Java was a centre of power in Java back then.

In 664 AD, the Chinese monk Hui-neng visited the Javanese port city he called Hēlíng (訶陵) or Ho-ling, where he translated various Buddhist scriptures into Chinese with the assistance of the Javanese Buddhist monk Jñānabhadra^] It is not precisely known what is meant by the name Hēlíng. It used to be considered the Chinese transcription of Kalinga but it now most commonly thought of as a rendering of the name Areng. Hēlíng is believed to be located somewhere between Semarang and Jepara

The ninth-century Buddhist monument Borobudur built by the Sailendra near the 'nail of Java'.

The first dated inscription in Central Java is the Inscription of Canggal which is from 732 AD (or 654 Saka). This inscription which hailed from Kedu, is written in Sanskrit in Pallava script.^[9] In this inscription it is written that a Shaivite king named Sri Sanjaya established a kingdom called Mataram. Under the reign of Sanjaya's dynasty several monuments such as the Prambanan temple complex were built.

In the meantime a competing dynasty arose, which adhered to Buddhism. This was the Sailendra dynasty, also from Kedu, which built the Borobudur temple.

After 820 there is no more mention of Hēlíng in Chinese records. This fact coincides with the overthrow of the Sailendras by the Sanjayas who restored Shaivism as the dominant religion. Then in the middle of the 10th century, for unknown reason, the centre of power moved to Eastern Java.

A few centuries later, after the destruction of the great Hindu Majapahit Empire in the 15th - 16th centuries by the Central Javanese Muslim kingdom of Demak, the Javanese centre of power moved back to Central Java. In the meanwhile European traders began to frequent Central Javanese ports. The Dutch established a presence in the region through their East India Company.

After Demak itself collapsed, a new kingdom on the Kedu Plain emerged. This new kingdom, which was also a sultanate, bore the old name of Mataram. Under the reign of Sultan Agung, Mataram was able to conquer almost all of Java and beyond by the 17th century, but internal disputes and Dutch intrigues forced Mataram to cede more and more land to the Dutch. These cessions finally led to several partitions of Mataram. The first partition was after the 1755 Treaty of Giyanti. This treaty divided the old kingdom in two, the Sultanate of Surakarta and the Sultanate of Yogyakarta. Then few years later Surakarta was divided again with the establishment of the Mangkunegaran after the Treaty of Salatiga (March 17, 1757).

During the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, Central Java, as part of the Netherlands East-Indies, a Dutch colony, was handed over to the British. In 1813, the Sultanate of Yogyakarta was also divided with the establishment of the Pakualamanan. The shattered kingdom, Mataram in 1830, after the Java War.

After the British left, the Dutch came back, as decided by the Congress of Vienna. Between 1825 - 1830 the Java War ravaged Central Java. The result of the war was a consolidation of the Dutch power. The power and the territories of the divided kingdom of Mataram were greatly reduced.

However Dutch rule brought modernization to Central Java. In the 1900s the modern province of Central Java, the predecessor of the current one was created. It consisted of five regions or gewesten in Dutch. Surakarta and Yogyakarta were autonomous regions called Vorstenlanden (literally "princely states"). Then after the Indonesian independence the province of Central Java was formalized on August 15, 1950, excluding Yogyakarta but including Surakarta Since then there have been no (major) changes in the administrative division of Central Java.

After the 30 September Movement's abortive coup of 1965, an anti-communist purge took place in Central Java, in which Communists and leftists (both actual and alleged) killed by the army and community vigilante groups. Others were interned in concentration camps, the most infamous of which was on the isle of Buru in the Moluccas (first used as a place of political exile by the Dutch). Some were executed years later but most were released in 1979^[10]

In 1998, preluding the downfall of president Suharto, anti Chinese violence broke out in Surakarta (Solo) and surrounding areas. Much Chinese property and other buildings were burnt down. In 1999, public buildings in Surakarta were burnt again by supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri after the Indonesia parliament chose Abdurrahman Wahid instead of Soekarnoputri. They carried out 'sweeping actions' against Western foreigners who reside in this city after the September 11, 2001 attacks.^[11]

The May 2006 Java earthquake in the south and Yogyakarta devastated many buildings and caused thousands of deaths and more than 37,000 injuries. Today, some areas are still under reconstruction.

The vast majority of the population in Central Java are ethnic Javanese, they constitute approximately 98% of the whole population.^[1] In addition to the Javanese, small pockets of Sundanese communities are to be found near the border with West Java, especially in Brebes and Cilacap regencies. Sundanese toponyms are common in these regions such as Dayeuhluhur in Cilacap, Ciputih and Citimbang in Brebes and even Cilongok as far away in Banyumas.^[16]

In urban centers, other minorities such as Chinese Indonesians and Arabs are common. The Chinese are even to be found in rural areas. The urban areas that are densely populated by Chinese Indonesian, are called pecinan, which means "China Town".

Architecture

The architecture of Central Java is characterised by the juxtaposition of the old and the new and a wide variety of architectural styles, the legacy of many successive influences by the Indians, the Persians and the Arabs, the Chinese, and the Europeans. In particular, northern coastal cities such as Semarang, Tegal and Pekalongan can boast fine colonial European architecture. The European and Chinese influence can be seen in Semarang's temple of Sam Poo Kong dedicated to Zheng He and the Domed Church built in 1753. The latter is the second oldest church in Java and the oldest in Central Java. Inland Surakarta, as a former capital, also has some fine European architecture.

Famous for its religious heritage, Central Java has some notable religious buildings. The Borobudur and the Prambanan temple complexes are among the largest Buddhist and Hindu structures in the world. In general, a characteristic Javanese mosque doesn't have a dome as its roof but a Meru-like roof instead, which is reminiscent of a Hindu or Buddhist temple. The tower of the famous Mosque of Kudus resembles a Hindu-Javanese or Balinese temple more than a traditional Middle-Eastern mosque.

Batik

Central Java is famous and well known for its exquisite batik, a generic wax-resist dyeing technique used on textile. There are different styles of batik motives. A centre of batik production is Pekalongan. Other centres are Surakarta and Yogyakarta. Batik in Pekalongan style which represent gaya pesisir (or coastal style) is different than the one in Surakarta and Yogyakarta, which represent batik from the heartland of Java (gaya kejawèn

Dance

You can even see the court influences in the art forms. The dances of the courts of Java are usually slow and graceful, with no excessive gestures. The people followed these kind of approach, and as a result, slow-paced and graceful movements can even be found in folk dances throughout Central Java (with some exceptions). You can enjoy the beauty of Central Javanese dances in “Kamajaya-Kamaratih” or “Karonsih”, usually performed in a traditional Javanese wedding.

Theater

There are several kinds of Central Javanese theater and performing arts. The most well known are is of course the Javanese wayang theater. There are several kinds of Central Javanese wayang, amongst others: wayang kulit, wayang klitik, wayang bèbèr, wayang golèk, and wayang wong. Wayang kulit are shadow puppets theater with leather puppets. The stories are loosely based on Mahabharata and Ramayana cycles. Wayang klitik are puppets theater with flat wooden puppets. The stories are based on Panji (king) stories. Panji was a native Javanese princes who set of in a 'journeys of desire'.^[21] Wayang bèbèr is scroll theater, and it involves "performing" scenes of a story elaborately drawn and painted on rolled sheets. Wayang golèk consists of three dimensional wooden puppets. The narrative can be based on anything, but usually the stories are drawn from Islamic heroic narratives. Finally wayang wong is wayang theater involving live figures; actors who are performing a play. The narrative however must be based on Mahabharata or Ramayana.

In addition to wayang, there is another form of theater which is called ketoprak. Ketoprak is a staged play by actors accompanied with Javanese gamelan. The narrative is free but cannot be based on Mahabharata or Ramayana. Otherwise it will be some kind of wayang wong

Central Javanese music is almost synonymous with gamelan. This is a musical ensemble typically featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums, and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings, and vocalists may also be included. The term refers more to the set of instruments than the players of those instruments. A gamelan as a set of instruments is a distinct entity, built and tuned to stay together — instruments from different gamelan are not interchangeable. However, gamelan is not typically Central Javanese as it is also known somewhere else.

Contemporary Javanese pop music is called campursari. It is a fusion between gamelan and Western instruments, much like kroncong. Usually the lyrics are in Javanese, but not always. One notable singer is Didi Kempot, born in Sragen, north of Surakarta. Manthous  and Didi Kempot mostly sings in Javanese.

_Tourism

_{There are several interesting places to be found in Central Java. Semarang itself has lots of old picturesque buildings: Puri Maerokoco and Indonesian Record Museum are located in this city.}

<sub>Borobudur, which is one of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites of Indonesia is also located in this province, in the Magelang regency. Candi Mendut and Candi Pawon can also be found near the Borobudur temple complex. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world with a height of 34.5 meters and a building area of 123 x 123 meters. Was founded on top of a hill which is located approximately 40 km southwest of Yogyakarta, 7 km south of Magelang, Central Java.

Borobudur was built by Sailendra dynasty between the years 750 and 842 AD. Buddhist Temple is likely to be abandoned about a century after construction because the center of the kingdom at that time moved to East Java.


Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles found in 1814 Borobudur in damaged condition and ordered that the site be cleaned and studied thoroughly. Borobudur restoration project on a large scale and then starting from 1905 until 1910, led by Dr. Tb. van Erp. With help from UNESCO, the second restoration to rescue Borobudur was carried out from August 1913 until 1983.

However, until now Borobudur still keep some mystery. A number of mystery that for example, who designed the temple of Borobudur, how many people were hired to build the temple, where only the stone to build the temple? Philosophy Of what use to make these temples? But certainly this temple is an important asset for Indonesia in the eyes of the international community.</sub>

_{Candi Prambanan at the border of Klaten regency and Yogyakarta is the biggest complex of Hindu temples. It is also a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Prambanan temple is extraordinarily beautiful building constructed in the tenth century during the reigns of two kings namely Rakai Pikatan and Rakai Balitung. Soaring up to 47 meters (5 meters higher than Borobudur temple), the foundation of this temple has fulfilled the desire of the founder to show Hindu triumph in Java Island. This temple is located 17 kilometers from the city center, among an area that now functions as beautiful park.}

_{There is a legend that Javanese people always tell about this temple. As the story tells, there was a man named Bandung Bondowoso who loved Roro Jonggrang. To refuse his love, Jonggrang asked Bondowoso to make her a temple with 1,000 statues only in one-night time. The request was nearly fulfilled when Jonggrang asked the villagers to pound rice and to set a fire in order to look like morning had broken. Feeling to be cheated, Bondowoso who only completed 999 statues cursed Jonggrang to be the thousandth statue.}

_{Prambanan temple has three main temples in the primary yard, namely Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva temples. Those three temples are symbols of Trimurti in Hindu belief. All of them face to the east. Each main temple has accompanying temple facing to the west, namely Nandini for Shiva, Angsa for Brahma, and Garuda for Vishnu. Besides, there are 2 flank temples, 4 kelir temples and 4 corner temples. In the second area, there are 224 temples.}

_{Entering Shiva temple, the highest temple and is located in the middle, you will find four rooms. One main room contains Shiva statue, while the other three rooms contain the statues of Durga (Shiva's wife), Agastya (Shiva's teacher), and Ganesha (Shiva's son). Durga statue is said to be the statue of Roro Jonggrang in the above legend.}

_{In Vishnu temple, to the north of Shiva temple, you will find only one room with Vishnu statue in it. In Brahma temple, to the south of Shiva temple, you find only room as well with Brahma statue in it.}

_{Quite attractive accompanying temple is Garuda temple that is located close to Vishnu temple. This temple keeps a story of half-bird human being named Garuda. Garuda is a mystical bird in Hindu mythology. The figure is of golden body, white face, red wings, with the beak and wings similar to eagle's. It is assumed that the figure is Hindu adaptation of Bennu (means 'rises' or 'shines') that is associated with the god of the Sun or Re in Old Egypt mythology or Phoenix in Old Greek mythology. Garuda succeeded in saving his mother from the curse of Aruna (Garuda's handicapped brother) by stealing Tirta Amerta (the sacred water of the gods).}

_{Its ability to save her mother made many people admire it to the present time and it is used for various purposes. Indonesia uses the bird as the symbol of the country. Other country using the same symbol is Thailand, with the same reason but different form adaptation and appearance. In Thailand, Garuda is known as Krut or Pha Krut.}

_{Prambanan also has panels of relief describing the story of Ramayana. Experts say that the relief is similar to the story of Ramayana that is told orally from generation to generation. Another interesting relief is Kalpataru tree that - in Hindu - the tree is considered tree of life, eternity and environment harmony. In Prambanan, relief of Kalpataru tree is described as flanking a lion. The presence of this tree makes experts consider that Javanese society in the ninth century had wisdom to manage its environment.}

_{Just like Garuda, Kalpataru tree is also used for various purposes. In Indonesia, Kalpataru is used as the logo of Indonesian Environment Institution. Some intellectuals in Bali even develop "Tri Hita Karana" concept for environment conservation by seeing Kalpataru relief in this temple. This tree of life is also seen in the gunungan (the puppet used as an opening of traditional puppet show or wayang kulit). This proves that relief panels in Prambanan have been widely known throughout the world.}

_{If you see the relief in detail, you will see many birds on them; they are real birds as we can see on the earth right now. Relief panels of such birds are so natural that biologists can identify their genus. One of them is the relief of the Yellow-Crest Parrot (Cacatua sulphurea) that cites unanswered question. The reason is that the bird only exists in Masakambing Island, an island in the middle of Java Sea. Then, did the bird exist in Yogyakarta? No body has succeeded in revealing the mystery.}

_{You can discover many more things in Prambanan. You can see relief of Wiracarita Ramayana based on oral tradition. If you feel tired of enjoying the relief, you can take a rest in the beautiful garden in the complex. Since 18 September 2006, you can enter zone 1 area of Prambanan temple. The damage caused by the earthquake on 27 May 2006 is being reconstructed. Please come and enjoy Prambanan temple.}

 <sub>In the region around the Dieng Plateau, one could find several temples. These are built before the era of the ancient Mataram. Dieng Plateu, is a marshy plateau that forms the floor of a caldera complex on the Dieng active volcano complex near Wonosobo, Central Java, Indonesia. Referred to as "Dieng" by Indonesians, it sits at 2,000m above sea level far from major population centres. The name "Dieng" comes from Di Hyang which means "Abode of the Gods".
The Plateau is the location eight small Hindu temples. Built around 750 CE, they are the oldest known standing stone structures in Java. They are originally thought to have numbered 400 but only 8 remain.

Dieng's misty location almost 2000 m above sea level, its poisonous effusions and sulphur-coloured lakes make it a particularly auspicious place for religious tribute. The temples are small shrines built as monuments to the god-ancestors and dedicated to Shiva. The Hindu shrines are miniature cosmic mountains based on plans in Indian religious texts, although the design motifs that have little connection to India. The earliest architectural usage of the Javanese demonic masks and marine monsters are exhibited along the niches and doorways of the remaining structures. The Dieng structures were small and relatively plain, but stone architecture developed substantially in only a matter of decades resulting in masterpieces such as the Prambanan complex and Borobudur.</sub>

_Offroad In Mount Merapi.

Mount Merapi, Gunung Merapi (literally Fire Mountain in Indonesian/Javanese), is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is located approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of the large Yogyakarta city, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level.

The name Merapi could be loosely translated as 'Mountain of Fire'. The etymology of the name came from Meru-Api; from the Javanese combined words; Meru means "mountain" refer to mythical mountain of Gods in Hinduism, and api means "fire". Smoke can be seen emerging from the mountaintop at least 300 days a year, and several eruptions have caused fatalities. Hot gas from a large explosion killed 27 people on 22 November in 1994, mostly in the town of Muntilan, west of the volcano.^[3] Another large eruption occurred in 2006, shortly before the Yogyakarta earthquake. In light of the hazards that Merapi poses to populated areas, it has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes.

On 25 October 2010 the Indonesian government raised the alert for Mount Merapi to its highest level and warned villagers in threatened areas to move to safer ground. People living within a 20 km (12 mi) zone were told to evacuate. Officials said about 500 volcanic earthquakes had been recorded on the mountain over the weekend of 23–24 October, and that the magma had risen to about 1 kilometre (3,300 ft) below the surface due to the seismic activity.^[4] On the afternoon of 25 October 2010 Mount Merapi erupted lava from its southern and southeastern slopes.^[5]

The mountain was still erupting on 30 November 2010 however due to lowered eruptive activity on 3 December 2010 the official alert status was reduced to level 3.^[2] The volcano is now 2930 metres high^[1], 38 metres lower than before the 2010 eruptions (Courtessy Wikipedia).
          Now after the disaster , people can visit this place freely, even they can get an Offroad touring by Jeep and trail  through a sandy rock path ways, wrecking house that memorate the moment when the mountain in wrath.

          if you want to visit central java with all it’s tourism object , don’t be hesitated, please visit my facebook on “Aryo widiyanto”  blackberry messenger at 21dc007f   (Aryo Widiyanto)