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SURAKARTA (SOLO) |
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Sixty-five kilometres northeast of Yogya stands quiet, leafy low-rise
SURAKARTA , or, as it's more commonly known, SOLO . This is the older of
the two royal cities in Central Java, and its ruling family can lay
claim to being the rightful heirs to the Mataram dynasty. Like Yogya,
Solo has two royal palaces and a number of museums, yet its tourist
industry is nowhere near as developed. The city's main source of income
is from textiles, and Solo has the biggest batik market on Java. Solo
also makes an ideal base from which to visit the home of Java Man at
Sangiran, as well as the intriguing temples Candi Ceto and Candi Sukuh.
Up until 1744, Solo was little more than a quiet backwater village, 10km
east of Kartasura, the contemporary capital of the Mataram kingdom. But
in that year the Mataram susuhunan (king), Pakubuwono II , backed the
Chinese against the Dutch, and the court at Kartasura was sacked as a
result. Pakubuwono II searched for a more auspicious spot to rebuild his
capital, and in 1745 the entire court was dismantled and transported in
a great procession to Surakarta, on the banks of the Kali Solo. However,
the decline continued, and in 1757 a rival royal house of Mangkunegoro
was established right in the centre of Solo. Thereafter, Solo's royal
houses wisely avoided fighting and instead threw their energies into the
arts, developing a highly sophisticated and graceful court culture. The
gamelan pavilions became the new theatres of war, with each city
competing to produce the more refined court culture - a situation that
continues to this day.
The City
Brought from Kartasura by Pakubuwono II in one huge day-long procession
in 1745, the Kasunanan Palace (daily except Fri 9am-2pm; Rp2500) is
Solo's largest and most important royal house. It stands within the
kraton, just south of the alun-alun; guides are available free of charge
and are definitely worth taking. Non-royals must enter the main body of
the palace by the eastern entrance. This opens out into a large
courtyard whose surrounding buildings house the palace's kris collection
, as well as a number of chariots, silver ornaments and other royal
knick-knacks. An archway to the west leads into the susuhunan's living
quarters; the current sultan, the septuagenarian Pakubuwono XII, is
still in residence, along with a few of his 35 children and two of his
six wives. Many of the buildings in this courtyard are modern copies,
the originals having burnt down in 1985.
The second royal house in Solo, the Puro Mangkunegoro (guided tours only
Mon-Thurs 8.30am-2pm, Sun 8.30am-1pm; Rp5000) stands 1km west of the
kraton and, like Yogya's court of Paku Alam, faces south towards the
Kasunanan Palace as a mark of respect. With its fine collection of
antiques and curios, in many ways the Puro Mangkunegoro is more
interesting than the Kasunanan palace. It was built in 1757 to placate
the rebellious Prince Mas Said (Mangkunegoro I), a nephew of Pakubuwono
II, whose relations with Mangkubumi deteriorated after the latter
founded Yogya and was recognized as its sultan. Exhausted by fighting
wars on three fronts, Mas Said eventually accepted a peace deal which
gave him a royal title, a court in Solo and rulership over four thousand
of Solo's households. The palace hides behind a high white wall, entered
through the gateway to the south. The vast pendopo (the largest in
Indonesia) which fronts the palace, shields four gamelan orchestras
underneath its rafters, three of which can only be played on very
special occasions. Be sure to look up at the vibrantly painted roof of
the pendopo, with Javanese zodiac figures forming the main centrepiece.
A portrait of the current resident, Mangkunegoro IX, hangs by the
entrance to the Dalam Agung , or living quarters, whose reception room
has been turned into an extremely good museum, displaying ancient coins,
ballet masks and chastity preservers.
Just south of Puro Mangkunegoro, the three-storey Pasar Klewer (daily
9am-4pm), by the southwest corner of the alun-alun, claims to being
Java's largest batik market , and designs from all over Java can be
found here. Another kilometre west along Jalan Riyadi brings you to the
Radya Pustaka Museum (Mon-Thurs & Sun 8am-1pm, Fri & Sat 8-11am; Rp500).
Built by the Dutch in 1890, this is one of the oldest and largest
museums in Java, housing a large Dutch and Javanese library as well as
collections of wayang kulit puppets, kris, and scale models of the
mosque at Demak and the cemetery at Imogiri. Another 500m further west,
at Jl Dr Cipto 15, the paintings and sculptures by the prolific artist
Pak Dullah are on show in the Dullah Museum (currently closed for
restoration).
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