View allAll Photos Tagged Java,
We went to Ambarawa Railway Museum, and had a ride on a Thomas the Tank Engine type little steam train, in 3rd-class carriages built in 1911. We chugged through paddy fields, surrounded by clouds of dragonflies, past cloud-wrapped volcanoes.
The Sukuh temple (candi) dates to the 15th century, and was one of the last major Hindu temples built in Java before Islamic rule took over the island. The style of temple is also quite distinct, since it diverges significantly from the older temples around Yogyakarta, which were more similar to the Indian style. The Sukuh temple was used for worshipping ancestors, gods (with statues and symbols of Garuda and Vishnu), and, especially, fertility. Hence the temple is still shrouded in mystery.
The temple is still used by a small Javanese Hindu community that lives on the slope of Lawu Mountain. These are one of the few Hindu communities which have preserved their Hindu religion in the face of Islamisation, thanks to their relative isolation.