Our first of the World's Wonders

Borobudur, on the island of Java, Indonesia

When Thomas Stamford Raffles received word that his men had located some sort of monument near the village of Bumisegoro, he must have felt giddy with excitement.  Following the Anglo-Dutch War, Java was briefly under the administration of the British, and the lieutenant governor-general had already taken a great interest in it's history.  But he couldn't have begun to imagine the sheer scale & magnificence of Borobudur, which lie slumbering for hundreds of years deep under layers of ash & jungle growth.  

This Buddhist monument, both a shrine to Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage, was built over 1000 years ago.  It is the largest single Buddhist monument in the world, not to be confused with Cambodia's Angkor Wat, which is the world's largest temple complex.  Scholars still speculate as to why the place of worship was abandoned.  Was it because the center of power moved to the East Java region?  Or because of a series of volcanic eruptions?  Or, as many believe, was it due to the population's mass conversion to Islam?

Borobudur's bas-reliefs & Buddha statues

The bird's eye view of Borobudur, is one of a giant mandala, or circle.  It's built as a single large reliquary, the Buddhist term being a "stupa".  The foundation is a square, over 375 feet on each side.  There are nine platforms; the lower six are square and the upper three are circular. The upper platform has 72 small bell-shaped stupas, surrounding one large central stupa.  The stupas have either diamond or square openings with statues of the Buddha inside.  Built out of over 70,000 cubic yards of stone from neighboring rivers, no mortar was used, but rather indentations and dovetails.  After the stone was in place, the reliefs were then carved. There are well over 2500 individual bas reliefs, covering the facades and the balustrades.  About half of these narrative and the others simply decorative. As an ingenious way to deal with storm run-off, gargoyle-like creatures with open mouths are actually spouts, at each of the corners.   

part of the stupa has been removed

Originally, there were a staggering 504 Buddha statues.  Over the years, 43 have disappeared and about 300 are damaged in some way, usually the head is missing, stolen as a collector's item.  Upon first glance, the Buddha statues appear the same.  Yet, depending on whether the statues face north, south, east, west or zenith (ie: above) the "mudra" or position of the Buddha's hands are different!  For example, the west-facing Buddhas' hands are in a position of concentration and meditation, while the hand position of the south Buddhas represent benevolence and alms-giving. As can be expected for a monument of this age, there is some wear and tear.  Apart from earthquakes, most recently in 2006, the temple was actually bombed in the 1980's leaving nine stupas in need of repair.  The artisans do a wonderful job, yet it's still clear to see that some restoration has taken place.

Mendut temple

Mendut temple and monastery was a "freebie" thrown in by our tour guide.  (That this exquisite temple could be treated almost as an after-thought could only be because of the grandeur of it's neighbor!)  Mendut housed three very large Buddha statues.  Here, devotees revere the three main divinities:  the first is Dhyani Buddha Vairocana, symbolizing the liberation from bodily karma, the second is Boddhisatva Avalokitesvarato, to free one from the karma of speech and the third, Boddhisatva Vajrapani, to release one from the karma of thought.

An interesting fact about Mendut, is that it lies in a direct line with Borobudur.  There are folk tales that speak of a brick paved road between these two temples.  It's believed that pilgrims would convene in Mendut, travel to the temple of Pawon (which we did not visit) where they would rest and prepare for the final leg.  Once they arrived at Borobudur, the pilgrims would circumambulate in a clockwise direction, following the 160 narrative panels, guided by the staircases and corridors that ascended to the top.  

Prambanan Temple

Our final stop, the temple of Prambanan, was the Hindus answer to Borobudur.  This ninth century temple complex is dedicated to what is called "Trimurti": the expression of God as creator (Brahma), sustainer (Vishnu) and destroyer (Shiva).  Prambanan is one of the world's largest Hindu temples.  It ended up being abandoned, like Borobudur, and was discovered by Thomas Raffles in the early 1800s.   The type of stone used for its construction is the same as Borobudur, but it contrasts with that monument in it's pointed shape.  Sadly, we were unable to enter the central temple dedicated to Shiva because of restoration following severe damage from the 2006 earthquake.  At 47 meters high and 34 meters wide, this temple is the largest, flanked by the temples for Brahma and Vishnu that are probably three-quarters it's size.  There are bas-reliefs on these temples, depicting various stories and legends.  Three temples in front of the main ones are Vahana temples, dedicated to the vehicles, or mounts, of the gods: a bull for Shiva, a sacred swan for Brahma, and an eagle for Vishnu. A total of 16 temples or shrines make up Prambanan, which was created to copy Meru, the hindu gods' holy mountain abode.

Brahma (creator)