Borobudur and Prambanan

Our next long day excursion was to two "biggest" temples:  Borobudur and Prambanan.  Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world.  Like Mount Bromo volcano, it is located in the middle of a huge caldera surrounded by active volcanoes.  It was built in the eighth century but abandoned in the fourteenth century.  Why?  Because the population become Moslem?  Because the erupting volcanoes made it inaccessible?  And for that matter, why was the largest Buddhist temple in the world built in a fairly remote part of Java, a fairly remote island in Southeast Asia?  No one really knows.

Engravings on the walls

Our ship docked at Semarang, the capital and largest city in the Central Java province, and then we drove two hours south to Borobudur.  The temple is built on ten levels.  Yes, more stairs, uneven stone stairs no less.  On the lower levels there are intricate engravings that tell the story of Buddha's parents, his birth, his life, and more.  On the top levels are circles of stupas with one giant stupa in the middle.

Apparently this is one of the most visited places in Southeast Asia.  We saw many school groups and I struck up a conversation with one group of girls.  Their English was not very good, but it was much better than my Javanese.  They introduced themselves and asked my name.  I asked them how old they are (14) and they asked me how old I am (gasping audibly when I told them).  Then they quickly pulled up a translation program on their phones and asked me questions:  how long are you here?  what do you like about it?  I'm not sure they understood my answers.  They asked if they could take a picture with me, so I felt the need to reciprocate.

Another hour drive and we arrived at Prambanan which is the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia and the second largest in Southeast Asia after Ankhor Wat.  Unlike the single Buddhist temples, no matter how big, Hindu temple complexes seem much less organized with various buildings, platforms, and statues scattered around seemingly randomly.  Also, apparently Hinduism is a generic term that includes many different religious practices.  Some Hindus worship one god, some three, and some dozens.  Prambanan is dedicated to Brahma, the Creator (large tower in the middle), Vishnu, the Defender (tall tower on the left), and Shiva, the Destroyer (tall tower on the right).  Unlike most sites I have been to that restrict entry, you can enter all of these towers by climbing steep stone steps (no handrails, of course).  Inside each, in complete darkness is a statue of the god of that tower.  Like Borobudur, Prambanan was deserted in the fourteenth century and sadly, largely destroyed.  After its "discovery" in the nineteenth century, parts have been reconstructed but it is still surrounded by mountains of stones from other towers that were once here.

One interesting theory for why Borobudur and Prambanan were deserted in the fourteenth century is that when the population became largely Moslem, the Buddhists and Hindus left Java and went to Bali.  This explains not only the desertion but also why Bali itself is primarily Hindu and why the Hinduism practiced in Bali is so different from other types of Hinduism.  Indonesia is 87% Moslem, 10 % Christian, 2% Hindu, and less than 1% Buddhist.  Not coincidentally, Bali, which is predominantly Hindu, has approximately 1.5% of the population of Indonesia.  More interesting facts about Indonesia:  with a population of nearly 300,000,000, it is the fourth largest country in the world and the largest Moslem country in the world.  Fully half the population lives on Java, an island that is the same size as Cuba.

Tomorrow will be our last stop in Java, and then we will continue up the coast of Sumatra.