A POTRAIT OF CULTURE

Malioboro Sign

The sun had just appeared heated his cold skin, which wrapped in thin white short-sleeved shirt and a brown jacket. He went down the red ceramic stairs which was very dusty, for some time he stopped correcting his lace of cream sneakers that has become white because frequently washing. He was looking for his motorcycle keys in his pants pocket that smooth, the only part that is smoother than cotton pants he was wearing. Rode his bike to the office he reversed the course, passing 'Plengkung Gading' (Dutch colonial era artificial gate) a big building stood white as ivory, flanked by walls of rock stairs that hard enough and comfortable to step on. He traveled to a place where he often passed each time from the cool of his hometown to this city where the heat sweltering his whole body. Malioboro, a name which made a trace on his heart. He thought about the past when his grandfather told Malioboro, black and white portrait of the life of the past. 'Malioboro first is a place where crowd of people saw art performances, listen ancient times story, and gave performances through gesture or body movement, eyes that speak. Black asphalt road rough, but it gives importance to the progress of a city: Yogyakarta. A story about Malioboro’s name derived from the name of an English nobleman named Marlborough, some other story told that Malioboro is bouquets. Yet, somehow the original Malioboro history is unclear, a lot of history in it. Dusty pavement, the dust entered his nostrils, proped breathing, he was almost there, he stopped, saw the sign pointing the way, Malioboro in the left, he slowed down his motorcycle, turn left onto the wet asphalt because overnight rain. Her heart began to pound, this cold morning, the sun was shining he dared not enjoy history.

Javanese Script in Malioboro

An old man riding a pedicab slowly through the Javanese script laid down the street Malioboro, Java script which sanked characterizes Javanese culture is still strong and stable. A substantial part of Malioboro. 

Ina Garuda Hotel

Parking Sign

Colorful shops of the first he saw, why people used the brightly color coloring the shop like this? Well maybe not, Indonesia used to be quite simple, and probably many stores demonstrated its products directly rather than with a large billboard that was almost touching electric cables supplying energy in the heart of Yogyakarta. He walked to the south saw a large building, the architecture was magnificent and quite luxurious with white and breadth of parking area. Perhaps because of the large vehicles require the hotel provided a large parking area, and also use  breadth of sidewalk that now be marked 'P', a parking lot.

He bowed his shoelaces fix and ​​walked again, look at the situation from the ground while squatting, a middle-aged man was picking dry leaves and rubbish into the garbage, which color was yellow but brown as inedible time. 

Clean The Cultural Heritage

Beside his left he saw some women was making a blue tent, open stalls to live, entertain the tourists with a variety of typical Indonesian food, especially Yogyakarta, named Gudeg. Sellers and buyers were sitting cross-legged (seated on floor mats), one characteristic of this area. He stood up, walked back down the sidewalk covered by tiles which was quite slippery because of water, saw an interesting classic building with wooden planks in front 'Bar & Resto', perhaps the development of international market and the many tourists who come made 'Bar & Resto' appeared in this town.

Western in East

Presidential Palace

Tired of stepping on the stone he sat at one of bench build by cement supplied to tourists take a rest, black rock under the green trees dance blown by wind, rustic but comfortable. In front of his eyes he saw a tall black iron fence, concealing beauty, a land of green grass, colonial buildings and a large white wooden door looks, a palace, a grandfather often told in first. A robust presidential palace remained with age, with the lights dimmed light hand side. Stopped and admired. 

Punakawan Statues

The other side opposite the palace, a red-walled store was his destination. No, not because of the red wall, but because the four statues of  ‘Punokawan’ (puppet character in the Javanese story) on the roof of the store, giving little space in the luxurious, Javanese culture in shopping and sightseeing place. Hiiiiiiiiihiiiiik! The voice that was rarely heard suddenly emerged from a beautiful figure with black dark brown body, the train carrying the load on the body. Carriage or wagon or cart said people. One of the traditional transportation which still exist from the past until now. The difference was cart long time ago was the main transport, but now cars and motorcycles that are excellent often create bottlenecks. 

A Gate

 He walked toward the sidelines, narrow aisle in the sidewalk between vendors. Came he stood transfixed in front of a tall building as he saw in Viraha. A wooden red and green gate with distinctive Chinese carvings like dragons. The centerpiece was a wooden board inscribed in gold ink, "Kampung Ketandan” 'written with 3 languages ​​and 3 different types of letters, alphabet, mandarin letters, and Javanese script’. Perfect combination of multiculturalism blend in a gate of a place which is full of stories. Malioboro past may not give a picture of multiculturalism, however now there is an evident of multiculturalism in a wooden gate. Malioboro first consists of a few shops, now a luxury shopping center, a kind of mall stands firmly in the middle, but there are still some peddlers who park in front of the court of the mall. A characteristic of cultural city, Yogyakarta. 

There was another one big building with colonial touch, the doors are large and have a lot of steps before the entrance, the administrative center of Yogyakarta city. The particular interest was the high gates on both sides, there was two blue payphone used a few years ago before many cellular phone exist. Holding the payphone liked touching the past, inserted 100 rupiahs coin and dialed the number on the silver keys engraved names of numbers and symbols was a bit odd. 

Blue Payphone

Walking towards the south there was a green colored wood bench place where the young couple shared love.

There was an old building which evoked asleep memories between the cold, crowded sidewalks, and a number of modern shopping centers, a market. Beringharjo market, traditional market with all it piercings. An old woman dressed in ‘jarik’ (a traditional batik fabric function as a skirt) and ‘purple floral kebaya’ newly arrived in front of the market; she fell from the rickshaw to take her with clothing apparel merchandise. It's a typical scene from Beringharjo for long time ago, with twin gates are now green, new paint showing its existence until now, since the founding of the past.

Beringharjo Market

Sovereignty Monument

A white banner in red ink put in a black gate in front of a monument, the word written said that it was the monument which recognizes the sovereignty of Yogyakarta. The banner attached to the black fence barrier monument, ‘Monumen Serangan Umum 1 Maret’: the historical evidence. Down the street, crowded point, many people took the photo with the background art sculpture statues and other ornaments in ‘Zero Point’, where the distance is calculated from Jogja. There was a giant red brick statue, 6 meters tall statue with cervical roots and root pins. An interpretation of the beginning of the calculation, the origin of birth at the ‘zero point’. It was so amazing and indescribable morning in Malioboro.