Famous Monuments of Indonesia
Gunung Kawi
In the bottom of the lush green valley of Germany is one of Bali's oldest and largest ancient monuments. Gunung Kawi consists of 10 rock-cutshrines and memorials cut out of the rock face in imitation of actual statues. They stand in 7m/23ft-high sheltered niches cut into the sheer cliff face.
A solitary memorial stands about a kilometre further down the valley to the south; this is reached by a trek through the rice paddies on the western side of the river.
Each oneis believed to be a memorial to a member of the 11th-century Balinese royalty, but little is known for certain. Legends relate that the whole group of memorials was carved out of the rock face in one hard-working night by the mighty fingernails of Kebo Iwa. One theory is that the whole complex is dedicated to Anak Wungsu, his wives, concubines and, in the case of the remote 10thcandi, to a royal minister.
Borobudur Temple
Java's Borobudur is one of the continent's marvels, surviving damage from volcanoes, terrorist bombs and hordes of tourists. Built from two million stone blocks in the form of a massive symmetrical stupa literally wrapped around a small hill, this colossal Buddhist relic remains as enigmatic and beautiful as it must have been 1200 years ago.
The paintwork is long gone, but it's thought that the grey stone of Borobudur was at one time washed with a color to catch the sun.
Viewed from the air, the structure resembles a colossal three-dimensional tantric mandala. It has been suggested, in fact, that the people of the Buddhist community that once supported Borobudur were early Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhists who used it as a walk-through mandala. It is one of the largest Buddhist Temple in Indonesia
The monument was conceived as a Buddhist vision of the cosmos in stone, starting in the everyday world and spiralling up to nirvana - the Buddhist heaven. At the base of the monument is a series of reliefs representing a world dominated by passion and desire, where the good are rewarded by reincarnation as a higher form of life, while the evil are punished by a lowlier reincarnation? These carvings and their carnal scenes are covered by stone to hide them from view, but they are partly visible on the south side.
Stone Chairs
More traditional Batak artistry and legend is on view in Ambarita, 5km north of Tanjung Tuk. The 300-year-old stone chairs are where village matters were discussed and wrongdoers were tried. A second set of megaliths in an adjoining courtyard was where the accused were bound, blindfolded, sliced and rubbed with chili and garlic before being beheaded.
Gunongan
All that remains today of Aceh's powerful sultanates are on view at Gunongan. Built by Sultan Iskandar Muda as a gift for his Malay princess wife, it was intended as a private playground and bathing place. The building consists of a series of frosty peaks with narrow stairways and a walkway leading to ridges, which represent the hills of the princess' native land.
Directly across from the Gunongan is a low, vaulted gate, in the traditional Pintu Aceh style, which gave access to the sultan's palace that is said to be supposedly for the use of royalty only.
Equator Monument
Grown from a simple marker in 1928 into a goofy collage of circles and arrows with a huge replica outside markingitsspot, Patung Khatulistiwa or Equator Monument makes much - too much - of Pontianak's geographical draw. It draws crowds every equinox to experience shadowless sunlight.
Bajra Sandhi Monument
Otherwise known as the Monument to the Struggle of the People of Bali, this huge structure is as big as its name and dominates what's already a big park in Renon. Inside this vaguely Borobodur-like structure are dioramas tracing Bali's history. Taking the name as a cue, there won't be surprised that this monument has a certain jingoistic soap-opera quality.
World War 2 Memorials
As everyone knows that the World War 2 was led by Nazi Germany left so many bitter memories like of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, then other as well. So there are countless monuments in the memories of the unsung heroes who sacrificed their lives in the war…………
BY: Tanya Gupta