This page will guide you to the interesting places of Yogyakarta and Central Java
HISTORICAL AREA
TAMANSARI
Tamansari is a water castle, to the south of the kraton, was built in 1965 and was once a royal retreat surrounded by pleasure gardens. At present, only the ruins remain of what were once the royal bedchamber, retreat, and the "nymph baths" for the ladies of the court. There are also a few underground tunnels, the precise function of which is now known for certain.
KOTAGEDE
Kotagede is our gateway to the ancient Mataram Kingdom. Kotagede has unique characteristics, such as identity of early Moslem period, reflects the original city structure, and the city's function and elements have changed (the square and original palace).
There are significant artifacts in Kotagede, such as The Great Mosque of Mataram and The Hastorenggo Cemetery.
The Particular characteristics of urban pattern in Kotagede is that the street of Rukunan (narrow-alleys in-between the people's houses used as public access with organic pattern)
Introducing and enjoying traditional Kotagede Town could be done by visiting, chatting, eating traditional food, watching the process of handicraft and admiring the traditional performing arts, which all is available one package prepared by Kotagede's community.
CITIES
YOGYAKARTA
Yogyakarta or Yogya, the city, has a number of places that remind us of its gallant pass. Only a few blocks away from the sultan's royal residence, which is called kraton in Javanese, one can for instance see the ruins of the old royal retreat and pleasure gardens of Taman Sari.
Yogyakarta, however, is a center of traditional culture in a process of transition. The golden era of the sultanate is long gone, and a new era has broken. On the face of it, Yogya may still appear old and traditional.
The timeworn values of the Mataram kingdom, however, are no longer relevant. Everything has become infused with the spirit of modernity, a process that has been continuing since the war of independence.
Although many aspects of culture are still treasured and the classical arts live on, Yogya has become a genuinely Indonesian city - perhaps one of the most Indonesian in this country, since so many young people from all over the archipelago are gathered here to study or work. Their presence unavoidably brings about a meeting and eventually a blending, of ethnic values and elements from all the regions of Indonesia.
Yogyakarta is also often called the "city of struggle" because of its role as the Republic's war capital during the second half of the 1940s. It is also known as the city of bicycles because of the many bikes that fill its roads, although these popular vehicles are slowly making way for noisy motor-bicycles and cars.
One particularly popular nickname is City of Students, which is an apt appellation because Yogya is one of Indonesia's foremost centers of education and learning and has a great number of students from all over the country among its population.
