8/16 -- Temple Day

We got to sleep in a bit today before heading out to look at Hindu and Buddhist temples in the area. There was a decent breeze so it was  much more pleasant to walk around outside than the last couple days.

According to Arinto, Buddhism is related to Hinduism, sort of like Protestants and Catholics. Both have beliefs  in reincarnation, with some differences. Hinduism is also a monotheistic religion, only the different aspects of God are represented by different characters.

The first was Candi Sambesari, a Hindu temple which was buried by a volcanic eruption hundreds of years ago. It was discovered by farmers and only partially excavated. The newest section has been cleared and bits of the older ones.

Relief map of the temple complex. The cut out areas on each
side of the table represent addition limited excavations that
demonstrate the larger extent of the site.

Excavations completed to date.

Arinto introducing the complex.

Close up of design  work. The plainest blocks are pieces that
have been made in modern times to replace lost pieces.

Each side had a relief -- which is centered
in a larger relief of a face and mouth.

The main temple and entrance.

Our next temples co-existed on a single site - first a Hindu temple complex, Candi Prambanan, then two Buddhist complexes, Lumbung and Sewu.

The Hindu complex of temples were dedicated to a different aspect of god: Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Protector), and Shiva (the Destroyer), and their respective vehicles: Angsa (a swan), Garuda (a bird), and Nandi (a cow), In addition to the ones that have been restored, about 240 other smaller ones fill the site.

Our first glimpse of Candi (Temple) Prambanan

One of the side temples. On Sunday it was crowded and
challenging to make our way up and down,

A family we encountered and interacted with on the way up
and ran into again on our way around an intermediate level.
They took a couple pictures with us too. Americans are
not common here.

Decoration on a building corner reminded us of Chinese buildings.

Nandi temple

Several of the reconstructed temples

Main temple

Looking up at a gargoyle

The Lumbung complex is much smaller, built in the 17th century with one main temple and 16 smaller ones.

Sewu Temple is the second largest Buddhist temple in Java after Borobudur. It was probably built in the 8th century. This also has a large number of smaller collapsed temples around it.

Guardians at the gate -- they reminded me of sumo wrestlers.

Jim talking to some mining students wanting to practice their
English. At Prambanan, we also encountered English learners
who come to the temple every Sunday to find foreigners to
practice with.

There was a deer park here too with a variety of deer that
maintain their spots into adulthood.

Our lunch was at a lovely rustic restaurant on a shallow river.

The restaurant

We walked a few minutes through a village to go to and from the
bus. It appeared more prosperous than the first village we saw.
Note the detail on the boy statue to the left - it is a fountain,

After lunch, we went to a Batik Village and were shown how elaborate batik fabrics were made. I thought of buying one, but my first choice was 2 meters of silk for $148 with a discount! I tried on a blouse, but it was too  heavy for this weather, I finally stumbled on 3 meter lengths of rayon and found one I really liked. Now all I have to do is find an appropriate dress pattern for it.

The batik designs are really elaborate. Some, like this one,
involved tracing the design on the fabric.

This design was probably created with copper stamp used
repeatedly. 

Dipping the dyed fabric in hot water to remove all the wax.
Sometimes, wax in small areas is scraped off and other wax
added to save a new color from the repeated dying.

After a short break, we had dinner at the home of a local resident. We were divided into 3 groups of 5 for this adventure.

Our group in the living  portion of our hosts' home

The ladies (Elaine, Lynn, host's wife, Margo, wife's mother)
sitting in front of the shared dining room across the narrow road
from the living space.