Yogya

INTRODUCTION
Yogyakarta (which is often spelled and called in different ways such as Jogjakarta, Yogya, or Jogja for short) is Indonesia in miniature. When visitors come to inhale the air of Yogyakarta, they feel like they have lived. Yogyakarta has been best described as a "Never Ending Asia", "Java's cultural heart", the "soul city of Java", or "planted in the fertile heartland of Central Java, (it is) the cradle of great Javanese empires... the capital of ancient kingdoms, medieval empires and modern revolution and an engaging melange of style and moods."
Whatever Yogyakarta is, or aims to be, this fascinating city with its surrounding jungles, rice fields and mountains lies in the heart of Indonesia's most important ancient empires. In Yogyakarta itself you can visit the impressive Sultan's Palace (the Kraton) under the watchful, but friendly eyes, of a hundred palace guards in their traditional and distinctive uniforms .You can tour its bustling markets and avenues and purchase arts and crafts created by Java's finest craftsmen and painters. Once you've seen enough of modern Java, you can then head for the countryside and marvel at some of ancient Asia's grandest wonder - the great 8th to 10th century Hindu and Buddhist temples of Prambanan, Borobudur and their subsidiary candi (temple) and shrines that dot the Javanese countryside.
Yogyakarta is a place where nothing is learned until it is experienced.

SPECIAL REGION OF YOGYAKARTA
DAERAH ISTIMEWA YOGYAKARTA










Sleman Regency (574.82 km²)
Yogyakarta City (32.5 km²)
Bantul Regency (506.86 km²)
Kulon Progo Regency (586.27 km²)
Gunung Kidul Regency (1,485.36 km²)


Capital
Yogyakarta (city)

Governor
Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X

Area
3,185.80 km² (1,230 sq mi)
Population
3,121,000 (2003)
Density
979.7/km² (2,537.4/sq mi)
Ethnic groups
Javanese (97%), Sundanese (1%) [1]

Religion
Islam (91.8%), Christianity (7.9%), Hinduism (0.2%), Buddhism (0.1%)
Languages
Indonesian (official), Javanese

Time zone
WIB (UTC+7)

Web site www.pemda-diy.go.id


Administrative divisions
Yogyakarta province is subdivided into four regencies (kabupaten) and one city (kota)
• Bantul Regency (506.86 km²)
• Gunung Kidul Regency (1,485.36 km²)
• Kulon Progo Regency (586.27 km²)
• Sleman Regency (574.82 km²)
• Yogyakarta City (32.5 km²)
Geography
Yogyakarta is located in south-central Java. It is surrounded by the province of Central Java (Jawa Tengah) and the Indian Ocean in the south. The city is located at 7°47′S, 110°22′E.
The population of DIY in 2003 was approximately 3,000,000. The province of Yogyakarta has a total area of 3,185.80 km². Yogyakarta has the second-smallest area of the provinces in Indonesia, after the Jakarta Capital Region. However it has, along with adjacent areas in Central Java, some of the highest population densities of Java.
Yogyakarta Special Region is geographically located almost equidistant from Indonesia's two most important international gateways, about 600 kms from Jakarta and 1000 kms from Bali.
Yogyakarta City
At Yogyakarta's center is the kraton, or Sultan's palace. Surrounding the kraton is a densely-populated residential neighborhood that occupies land that was formerly the Sultan's sole domain; evidence of this former use remains in the form of old walls and the ruined tamansari , or "Water Castle", built in 1758 as a pleasure garden and now largely abandoned. Reconstruction efforts at the tamansari have started in 2004. Some of the buildings are reconstructed and repainted while the streets in the neighborhood around it have been renewed.
Adisucipto International Airport
It is located in the Sleman district, in the Yogyakarta Special Region, on the north east outskirts of the city, near the Prambanan historic site. It has one runway with the dimensions of 2,200 X 45 m. This airport is located about 6 km from the city Yogyakarta.
The airport was launched as an international airport on 21 February 2004 with the first international flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia operated by the Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia. This was the realisation of Yogyakarta's wish to have its own international airport after struggling for over 30 years. One month later, Garuda Indonesia also operated its second international flight to Singapore. Before Adisucipto became an international airport, Yogyakarta depended on Bali and Jakarta as the gate of its internatinal trade and tourism. Unfortunately, due to low demand, Garuda Indonesia ceased international flights from and to this airport on November 2006.
This airport was heavily damaged on the 27th May 2006 earthquake and had to be closed for 2 days. Some parts of the runway were cracked and the departure lounge was completely collapsed. During those 2 days, most flights to and from this airport were canceled or rerouted to Adisumarmo International Airport, Solo. After it was back to service on 30th May 2006, all passengers used the international lounge until the new domestic departure lounge was ready to go back on service. During this period, this airport was completely uncomfortable since the international lounge was designed only for about 100 passengers on a time while on peak hours, a lot more passengers traveled through this airport.


The History of Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta was founded in 1755 and was the capital of Mataram kingdom when the Dutch came along. The Dutch granted the kings by title Sultan of Yogyakarta territory. Yogyakarta was also the scene of Indonesia's most successful rebellions against the Dutch - firstly with Prince Diponegoro who waged a holy war against colonial rule from 1825 to 1830, and also serving as the capital of the newly independent republic after World War II when the Dutch reoccupied Batavia (Jakarta).
People have lived in Central Java and Yogyakarta area since immemorial time as over the centuries they have been attracted by the rich soil caused by the numerous volcanic eruptions. The earliest recorded history dares from the 9th century and was dominated by Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms that gave rise to the magnificent temples such as Prambanan, Ratu Boko, Kalasan, Sambisari and Borobudur found in this area. Yogyakarta itself dates back to the 18th century. In the early 18th century, Pakubuwono II ruled the Muslim Mataram Kingdom of the time. After he passed away, there was a conflict between his son and his brother, which was encouraged by the Dutch who were trying to colonize the region on a 'divide and rule' basis.
The Kingdom was divided into two regions namely Surakarta Hadiningrat kingdom under Sunan Pakubuwono III rule, and Nyayogyakarta Hadiningrat kingdom under Sultan Hamengku Buwono I rule. He was the founder of the present line of Sultans who still live in the Kraton and play important role in Javanese culture. The second kingdom was later called Yogyakarta, now better known as Yogyakarta.
After the independence of the Republic of Indonesia was proclaimed, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX and Sri Paku Alam VIII launched a statement that the Kasultanan and Kadipaten (the two royal regions), belonged to Republic of Indonesia as a part of the whole area of Indonesia Republic. Since then, it has been known as Yogyakarta Special Region and was given a provincial status in 1950 in recognition of its important role in it fighting for the independence. nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
CULTURE IN JOGYA
As the former capital and the center of several kingdoms in the past, Yogyakarta and its people are very rich in its cultural heritage. Civilization, art and culture had developed respectively in the era of the ancient Mataram Kingdom (17th - 18th century), and the Sultanate Ngayogyakarto from the mid of 18th century up to today. It should be noted that cultural heritage from the past includes the magnificent temples, the ruins of palaces and monasteries, various kind of traditions, cultural events, traditional folk , performing arts, architecture and other traditional activities.
It is important to note that this is all part of the living culture of Yogyakarta and color of daily activities of live and behavior of the local inhabitants, particularly the Javanese community with its traditional way of life and customs. Therefore, because of its culture richness and heritage, Yogyakarta has long been known as the cradle of Javanese culture.
While much of Indonesia has its eyes on the future, Yogyakarta is one place where the past exists alongside the modern. Those seeking to visit exotic and soulful Java will find what they have been dreaming about in Yogyakarta. While Indonesia’s capital Jakarta has an Old District which lies in a state of disrepair, Yogyakarta has many historical buildings and monuments that have maintained their former glory.

The city of Yogyakatra is not large, but it is bustling. It is easy to get around as a tourist, although you will be hassled by rickshaw and moto drivers who are trying to pick up a fare.
It is worth noting that Yogyakarta has special status as an autonomous region in Indonesia. Shoppers are able to find all sorts of good, especially antiques and handcrafts. Aside from well-made silver and leather products, Malioboro Mall, among others, offers modern shopping comforts.
The one “I can’t miss it” site in Yogyakarta is Kraton Ngayogyakarto, which is usually simplified to The Kraton. This was once a palace housing a sultan. The inner court has a museum that explains the history of the palace and of Yogyakarta and the surrounding area. People actually live inside the outer walls of the Kraton. This area, with its gardens, statues and old buildings feels more exotic than it probably is, but if you’ve come to Java for an authentic experience, this is where you’ll find it.
The other one is Taman Sari Water Castle. It is about ten minutes walk from the Sultan's Palace south-west ward. Everybody in this town knows where Tamansari is. It is just behind the Pasar Ngasem Bird Market. Although small and simple, this market sells several kinds of cute birds and pets, such as the favorite turtle-doves (perkutut), the more expensive yellow crowned bulbul (cucakrawa), poksays and other colorful birds such as canaries, parakeets, parrots, starlings etc. It was build by Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono I in 1758 as a rest house and pleasure park for the Royal family
The area around the park eastward to the city quarters called "Kampung Segaran" was once full of water. This place is now called Suryoputran.Segaran is a Javanese word means a man-made ocean or an artificial sea. Every time the Sultan visited the park, he went there by rowing a private canoe through the suspension bridge called "Kreteg Gantung" which lay in front of the Palace gate, southward or northward of Kemandungan. The remained building that was once connected by the suspension bridge can still be seen nowadays. Besides water transportation, there was also an underground passage or alley from the Sultan Palace leading to one of the park buildings which called Pasarean Ledok Sari.
One part of the place was called Pulau Kenanga because in the front yard of the building grown Kenanga trees (Canangium Odoratum). The flowers spread out the sweet fragrance through all parts of the park. The lofty buildings such as the pond were built especially for the Sultan and his family. Recent restoration has been done on the underground passage leading to the west area, the bulwark that is encircled the area of the Palace, and another path, which lead southward to a small village, called Krapyak.

Prambanan Temple built in the 10th century, this is the largest temple compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia. Rising above the centre of the last of these concentric squares are three temples decorated with reliefs illustrating the epic of the Ramayana, dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) and three temples dedicated to the animals who serve them.

Prambanan temple is located some 17 km from Yogyakarta.located in country side karang asem and sub-district bokoharjo, district of prambanan, kabupaten sleman. Tourists can't miss the temple because it is only 100 meters off the main street. Sanjaya Dynasty built this 47 meters high Hindu temple in the 10th century. It consists of three courtyards. The main temple is located in the inner courtyard and surrounded by several small temples called "Perwara". Local chieftains contributed some of these as a tribute of their acceptance to the king.

Entering the main temple from the north, one will find a statue of a very beautiful princess, Roro Jonggrang. According to the legend, Roro Jonggrang was the daughter of King Boko, which was cursed into a statue. The legend also says that a young powerful man named Bandung Bondowoso wanted to marry Roro Jonggrang. Since she doesn't love him, Roro Jonggrang tried to avoid the marriage by asking Bandung Bondowoso a present. She would only marry him if Bandung were really a powerful man. To prove the power Bandung was asked to build a thousand temples in one night. Having supernatural power, Bandung has almost successfully finished his task, but Roro Jonggrang prevents this excellent achievement. Jonggrang asked the maidens of the east village of the temples to burn the hay and pound the rice in order to cause the situation like dawn time for sunrise.
Borobudur is the biggest Buddhist temple in the ninth century measuring 123 x 123 meters. It was completed centuries before Angkor Wat in Kamboja. Borobudur is the greatest of all Buddhist temples. Built around the beginning of the 9th century by the Syailendra Dynasty. When Buddhism decreased in Java, Borobudur was abandoned. Only then it was discovered by The British's Raffles in 1814 when he ruled Java.

Borobudur is 42 m in height and has 10 terraces (10 levels). The three top levels are circular where the Buddhist stupas are placed and the seven others are square on which the reliefs of Buddha Gautama's life and love are carved. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.
A main dome is located at the center of the top platform, and is surrounded by seventy-two Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa. Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage, where once a year Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction
Parangtritis Beach Resort Located about 35 km to
the south of Yogyakarta. Parangtritis has been famous for long, not only as a beach resort where sand dunes, sandy beach and rocky cliffs meet, but it also a historical place which closely to the mysterious legend of the Queen of the South Sea (Kanjeng Ratu Kidul). Kanjeng Ratu Kidul, who together with her trusted right-hand person, the feared Nyi Roro Kidul, the ever youthful and beautiful queen.
The legend says that Kanjeng Ratu Kidul was married to one of the Mataram Monarch, Panembahan Senopati, whom she visited and communicated with on certain occasions. It is said that the name Parangtritis expresses a natural phenomenon. From the wall of one of the hills drops off water containing calcium, which is continuously dripped down and finally formed a pool with a very clear water in it. Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono VII found and took care of this formed pool.
Yogyakarta is known for its silver work, leather puppets used plays (wayang kulit), and a unique style of making batik dyed fabric. It is also known for its vivid contemporary art scene.
Another rich Indonesian tradition on display in Yogyakarta is music. Gamalan is the twangy Indonesian folk music. It accompanies performances like Wayang (shadow puppet theater) or Ramayana Ballet. The puppet theater is shown in the Kraton on most days and is very popular with children. The Ramayana Ballet is performed at Prambanan part of the year.

Yogya Culinary
Gudeg (Gudheg in Javanese) is traditional food from Yogyakarta and central Java. It’s ingredients consist of young jackfruit cooked with cocont milk, spiced with kluwek. The brown colour came from jati leaf. Gudeg is eaten with rice and served with thick coconut milk soup (areh), quarter chicken, egg, tofu and kreck, fried chilli sauce.
Yogya Culinary : Not Only Gudeg !!
For you who love to eat, it doesn’t feel right if you haven’t try all of yogya culinarys which are very both taste and price. Before you try, there’s nothing wrong if you checked our reference first.
Ussualy, tourism had a rough time if they ate any food in Yogya because the overall food taste in Yogya is sweet. There are many food in yogya that’s not sweet at all or have only a little sweet flavor on it, the example is Brongkos Rice. Located in Jl. Gading no. 2 there is foodseller named Brongkos that have exist since 70’s. Brongkos consist of thollo nut (like greenpeal but red coloured), white tofum and beef meat (totolan) cooked with various spice (one of them, is kluwek) until the vegetable colour turned to dark black. It tasted deliciously oily and not sweet at all. The addition is chicken/ beef bacem or chicken egg. One serving of brongkos with tofu, egg and rice is about Rp. 3000,- . Very affordable for a legendary taste in Yogya.
Lenthok Soup, is serving of chicken gravy soup garnished with cabbage and tomato slice, bean sprout, green onion, etc. The special thing is, inside every soup is added a slice of lenthok. The taste ? prove it yourself ! Fresh, delicious oily, and no sweet taste at all.
Unique Satays, Have you ever taste beef satay Eaten with slice of lontong served with green lombok vegetable? If not and you are curioys about the taste, try to go to the alun-alun Kota Gede. They say that this satay originally sold by Mr. Karyo Semito around 1948 by go around car one serving of satay is only about Rp.14.000,-.
Another unique satay from Yogya culinary is Jaran Satay and Tongseng Kopyok. Jaran satay is another name from horse (meat) satay. While tongseng kopyok is a tongseng that served with mixture of various spices and shaked egg. You can choose the meat from chicken, beef, even rabbit. Or Klathak Satay, a huge size of goat satay, that is cooked only with salt and burned.
Yogyakarta is where to go if you want to see Indonesia’s history up close and in full color!