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Yogyakarta Travel Guide
Yogyakarta is a city built with a deep philosophy: the city's landmarks follow a straight line—from the Parangtritis beach, to Kraton NgaYogyakarta, to Tugu Monument, and finally, to Mount Merapi—to maintain the sultan's harmony with the guardian spirits of Parangtritis and Mt. Merapi. Nobody knows if this is why, despite going through many occupations and rebellions, Yogyakarta, one of Indonesia's oldest cities, remains one of the few ancient sultanates in the world. This bustling town is sandwiched between two World Heritage Sites—Borobudur and Prambanan, making it the province's center for art and shopping, and ultimately, the most prominent tourist destination in all of Java.
Trains from Jakarta take travelers to Yogyakarta's Tugu Station, where many andongs (horse carts) and becaks or three-wheeled rickshaws wait to take tourists to Yogyakarta's crème de la crème: Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono's palace, better known as Kraton NgaYogyakarta, a complex consisting of a main court, the sultan's residence, a museum of the sultan's horse-drawn carriages, a shadow puppet theater (Siti Hinggil Selatan), the sultan's batik workshop, one of the oldest and largest mosques in the city (Masjid Gede Kauman), and Alun-Alun or the Sultan's Ground, where the Gerebeg Maulud parade is held during Prophet Muhammad's birthday. Taman Sari or Water Castle, also inside the complex, used to be a pleasure garden for the city's first sultan. The castle has a tower from which the sultan would pick a harem, although he had one of his pools reserved for a favorite concubine.
Surrounding Kraton NgaYogyakarta are Dutch colonial landmarks like the heritage homes, church, monastery (Gereja Kotabaru) and stadium (Stadion Kridosono) of Kotabaru and the fort and twin canons of Benteng Vredeburg. There are also museums displaying different collections such as Dirgantara's WWII aircrafts, and Kekayon and Sonobudoyo's ancient Javanese artifacts like wayang puppets and masks.
Rich Javanese mythologies are carved into the walls of candis (ancient temples) like the underground, 9th-century Sambisari; the 7th-century Kalasan; and the highland Sari, which is renowned also as monks' ancient dormitory.
The capital of the ancient Mataram Kingdom is Kotagede, a prime example of Antique Javanese architecture known for its silverware and the tomb of the kingdom's first ruler. Another graveyard, Imogiri, houses the remains of the city's royal families.
The city's well-known shopping promenade is Malioboro, visited by many locals and tourists for its stalls selling wayang puppets, leather goods, batiks, and other handicrafts. It is also a good place to try the city's spicy-sweet dishes like krecek or fried fish with chilly and orange juice.
Yogyakarta Landmarks:
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