The Jogja street art scene, along with the numerous contemporary art galleries in the city, makes Yogyakarta an absolute must-visit for any art lover travelling to Java.

To get a good overview of Jogjakarta’s street art scene, you will need at least a couple days in the city.

Have a look at the photos and get inspired by this small fraction of what Jogja has to offer, and let me know what you think of the street art in Yogyakarta.

music courtesy of : Sunspots by Jeremy Blake
free under creative commons licence from You tube music library

There is so much info on Affandi on the Internet that I have decided to let the images speak for themselves, after all he was an Artist!

Suffice to say that I got a great enjoyment from visiting his Galleries and home by the river in Yogya. A beautiful calm place where i understood his desire to create.

I have also included the galleries that house his daughters work, Kartika, and the Gajah Wong studio where work in alluding to his style by modern artists is for sale.

If you ever have a chance to visit , i would say it is a “must do” place. Even sitting in the cafe below his dwelling and sipping a cool drink taking in the city around you is a great experience.

I have tried throughout this slideshow to identify each painting, where i have been unable i have left them blank. The Gajah Wong studio did not have identifiers like the museum part.

During my visit to Jogjakarta, close to the Royal Palace within the area known as the Kraton (a grand complex that was meticulously planned to reflect the Javanese cosmos.). I visited the Royal Carriage museum.

There are a variety of the carriages. In Museum Kereta Keraton Yogyakarta, around 23 carriages.

The rooms of the museum which are actually quite huge, become a little bit narrow because of the big royal carriages.

Every single carriage in the museum has a name and on the wall next to it, a picture that shows the time when the carriage in use.

Not only that, the costumes which were used by the coachmen of Keraton also have been neatly organized in big old cupboards. Not far from those cupboards, there’s also a horse sculpture which is fully-equipped with carriage-pulling equipment. so you get a really good idea of how it would have looked during ceremonial times/use.

In the center of the building, are two large rooms, which houses at least eight other carriages , all placed differently because of their greater size.

Among them, there is Garuda Yeksa Kareta which is decorated with 18 carats of gold and was made by the Dutch in 1861. This carriage which is usually pulled by 8 white horses, has been used since Sri Sultan HB VI’s inauguration up until now.

Then, there is also Kyai Roto Praloyo Kareta which is a carriage that used to carry Keraton’s noble remains to the funeral.

A really stunning collection of Royal vehicles, that was lovely to see up close.

A recent trip to Indonesia, took me to a few places of interest, one of the coolest was here…

Tamansari Water Castle: A Place for Princesses to Bathe and be ‘Hunted’ by the Sultan

The Sultan loves to go hunting during his free time and The Umbul Pasiraman was designed to appease the Sultan of that desire. Different from the Panggung Krapyak which was designed to hunt deer, the Umbul Pasiraman (which means a place to take a bath) was designed for the Princesses to take a bath and for the Sultan to relax and ‘hunt’ for a wife.

To catch his ‘two-legged prey’, it is said that the Sultan would throw a rose from the high tower on the south of the pool and the Princess who caught that rose will be his ‘wife’.

Usually, the ones who would catch the rose would either be the Queen or his concubines.

There are three different pools at Umbul Pasiraman namely Umbul Binangun, Umbul Muncar and Blumbang Kuras each a different area for the daughters of Sultan and his potential wives to bathe.

Other than the Umbul Pasiraman, visitors can also explore an underground tunnel and mosque. The tunnel was once a hideout but now is not functional as it is partially used for local residences. Unlike most mosques, the mosque on this premise is a unique circle shaped building, with Sumur Gumilang beneath which was a place for the Sultan to pray.

During my recent trip to Indonesia I visited the Geraja Ayum or chicken Church and it’s not hard to see how it got it’s name!

Trust me the walk up there was a challenge and my usual travel friend was not available due to a broke toe joint, so off I went on my own. Had I known how steep the climb was I might have “Chickened out” , but I am so pleased I didn’t! the reward was another “personal challenge achieved”, pushing only myself and only me to fail or succeed without any pressure from anyone else!

After finishing the 2klm vertical hike, I was greeted by this amazing building, along with it’s four floors all with their own views!

All images taken with my Canon 70D!

During my recent trip to Indonesia I visited the Geraja Ayum or chicken Church and it’s not hard to see how it got it’s name! Hidden deep inside the Indonesian jungle lies an enchanted ‘church’ which looks like a giant chicken.

The long-abandoned structure known locally as Gereja Ayam – or Chicken Church – attracts hundreds of curious travelers and photographers to the hills of Magelang, Central Java, every year. But according to the its eccentric creator, the majestic building is neither a chicken nor a church.

Daniel Alamsjah was working in Jakarta – 342 miles away – when he suddenly got a divine message from God to build a ‘prayer house’ in the form of a dove. ‘Perhaps because of my Christian faith, people thought I was building a church. But it’s not a church. I was building a prayer house… a place for people who believe in God,’ the 67-year-old told Jakarta Globe. In 1989, he was walking through the Magelang, where his wife’s family live, when he caught sight of the exact same landscape he had seen in his dreams. ‘I prayed all night there and I got a revelation that I must build the prayer house in that spot,’ he said.

One year later, local land owners offered him the 3,000 square metres of land on Rhema Hill for just two million rupees – or £110 – which he paid off over four years. Now people of many different religions – including Buddhists, Muslims and Christians – travel to the remote ‘prayer house’ to worship in their own way.

One of the several rumours surrounding the mystical building was that it was used as a rehabilitation centre. Alamsjah confirmed this to be true, saying: ‘The rehabilitation that happened at this prayer house was for therapy for disabled children, drug addicts, crazy people and disturbed youth who wanted to fight.’

The prayer house shut its doors in 2000 because the construction costs were too high, but many continue to visit the beautiful site in Indonesia. The head of the nearby Dese Gombong village was one of the 30 locals who helped Alamsjah build the prayer house. Today, Wasno is one of the people who directly benefits from tourists’ curiosity about the famous Chicken Church.

Vredeburg Fort was built by Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono I in 1760, based on the request from Dutch government, Nicolas Harting. The construction was first functioned as a fort in rectangle form. Each corner of the building had a guard post called seleka or bastion which was given a name; Jayawisesa (northwest corner), Jayapurusa (northeast corner, Jayaprakosaning (southwest corner), and Jayaprayitna (southeast corner).

In 1762, Nicolas Harting was replaced by W.H. Ossenberch who later on, persuaded Sultan to construct the fort permanently. Sultan granted the request and the construction began in 1767 under the supervision of Ir. Frans Haak, the Dutch expert of construction. The construction was finally finished in 1787. The building was named Rustenberg that means “rest fort”. In 1867, earthquake in Yogyakarta tore down Rustenberg Fort. The building was renovated and the name was changed into Vredeburg fort that means “peace fort”. The name is used until today.

Today, the function of the fort becomes National Struggle Monument that is called Vredeburg Fort Museum. It was officially launched on November 23, 1992. The museum often functions as a place to hold art and culture activities.