whoever said money cant buy you everything obviously hasnt been to indonesia: part 3a, prambanan +
despite my earlier rhapsodic ruminations on indonesian food (which i really still am in love with. mmm.) that, for me, wasn't the best part of the trip. the one thing i found truly amazing about indonesia (besides the general conviviality of everyone despite the overwhelming chaos the entire country is steeped in) was its candis.
a candi is a kind of catch-all term for temple, whether hindu (like prambanan) or buddhist (like borobodur). the term is misleadingly boring-sounding-- i think there really should be a more magnificent word to describe huge temple complexes that have been standing for over a thousand years. it's a lot like calling westminster cathedral a church, or australia an island-- technically correct, but a gross disservice to the entity you're describing.
first, prambanan. built around 800 AD, it's a huge hindu temple complex, with 3 main temples, dedicated of course to the three main gods of hinduism: the largest shrine in the middle is dedicated to shiva, destroyer. the other two are dedicated to vishnu, the sustainer, and brahma, the creator. around the three main temples are smaller temples, each dedicated to each god's mount-- nandi the bull, garuda the eagle, and angsa the gander (hey they can't all be cool right)
the entrance to prambanan. fenced off because of the 2006 earthquake, which destabilised the temples and made them dangerous to walk into. you can, however, bribe the guards to let you past the fence, as long as you don't actually go into the shrines.
i think this is vishnu's shrine. either that or it's nandi's. nothing is labelled properly at the site...
siva's shrine. i'm a really lousy photographer...
brahma's shrine, which was wrecked because of the earthquake. how ironic.. you can see the top of the shrine is actually kinda tilted.
check it out. even the drainage system is intricately carved. and look at the reliefs.
two views of vishnu's shrine. there are literally tens of stone blocks just strewn all over the place. the earthquake wrecked a lot of the complex.
candi sewu. another temple, just smaller, and in the same area. there are tons of these things just strewn all over the place. amazing. all over a thousand years ago. historians theorise that the 200+ (!) temples in this area were built as offerings to the king. some big fart he must have been.
+ fictions&fires 2:44 PM
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