DEMAK
MOSQUE
 Demak,
whose fleets once conquered most of the coastal kingdoms of
Java and founded the rest - is now stranded 12 kilometers from
the sea. Apparently founded by a Chinese Muslim, Demak was Java's
first Islamic state and first exponent of jihad. In the late
1520s, it snuffed out the last fading embers of Majapahit's
glory and became the first Islamic link in the chain of Moslem
dynasties through which Solo and Yogya trace their legitimacy
back to the ancient Hindu empire. Tradition has it that four
of the engraved pillars of Demak's Mesjid Agung Mosque were
brought from the Majapahit court. Certainly they are very old,
although the remainder of the building was completely rebuilt
in 1845 and again in 1987, when then-President Suharto presided
over its reopening. This is Java's most holy mosque; traditionally,
seven pilgrimages here during the annual feast of Garebeg Besar
are supposed to be worth one complete hajj to Mecca.
Even more
interesting is the mosque at Kudus, which is of pure pre-Muslim
design. Not only are the split gates reminiscent of a Balinese
temple, but the redbrick minaret in front is so similar to a
Hindu kulkul (gong tower) that it may actually have been one.
"Kudus" is a corruption of the word al-Quds, meaning
Jerusalem; the only place in Java to have an Arabic name. The
mosque, which bears the date 1549, is known as al-Manar or al-Aqsa,
after the one in Jerusalem. It was founded by Sunan Kudus, who
is said to have been the head of the mosque at Demak before
he moved here. Sunan Kudus is one of the wali songo, the "nine
saints" who are given popular credit for the Islamization
of Java. His carved, curtained grave behind the mosque has been
a revered shrine for 400 years. The old port area of northeastern
Java is also the homeland of anther wali; Sunan Kalijaga, is
buried at Kadilangu, about two kilometers south of Demak.
The domestic
architecture of Kudus is more Middle Eastern than its mosque,
with high, whitewashed, windowless streetside walls. Many of
the female population work in the town's clove cigarette factories.
The rich, sweet scent of kretek smoke was first introduced in
the 1890s, and only started to make converts on a large scale
in the 1920s; yet now it seems a timeless and essential part
of Indonesia. Kudus was the first center of the kretek industry.
Its cottage producers lost out to new factories elsewhere after
the war, but the big Chinese-owned Djarum plant has regained
much of the evergrowing market from Kediri-based Gudang Garam.
Jepara
comes closer to remaining a port than Demak or Kudus, but still
misses the sea by a couple of kilometers. In the 16th century,
ships from China, Burma, India, Persia and Arabia moored in
its now vanished harbor and its own navy besieged Portuguese
Malacca three times. Today it is a quiet, rather isolated place,
best known for its woodcarvings in teak and mahogany.
The most
famous child of this part of northern Central Java is Raden
Ajeng Kartini, Indonesia's foremost national heroine, whose
birthday is celebrated as "Kartini Day" on April 21st.
Born in
1879, in Mayong near Kudus, where there is a commemorative monument,
Kartini was a daughter of the Regent of Jepara, who allowed
her to attend European school at a time when most Javanese aristocrats
found female education unacceptable. Her wholehearted enthusiasm
for the ideals of Ethical Policy
dumbfounded even the Dutch themselves. In moving letters later
published as Door Duisternis tot Licht (Through Darkness to
Light), she expressed in lucid Dutch her desire to bring education
and emancipation to Javanese women. Kartini died tragically
at 25, a few days after the birth of her first child. Her life
and works are celebrated in Jepara at the Museum Kartini di
Jepara, and in Rembang, where she spent her single year of married
life, at the Museum Kartini di Rembang. She is buried near the
old mosque in Mantingan, 19 kilometers south of Rembang, on
the road to Blora.
A few
kilometers east of Rembang is the little-known batik center
of Lasem, where 50 small factories produce handdrawn designs,
often floral in theme, for sale in Surabaya. The industry is
controlled by the Chinese, who have been here for seven generations,
and it resembles a 19th-century southern Chinese town.
Though
separated from the historic coastland by only a low range of
chalk hills, the Lusi river valley has always been one of Java's
backwaters. This is almost the last place where one can see
the rare wayang form called krucil or klitik, which uses flat,
toy-like wooden puppets. At the beginning of this century, the
villages around Blora were the scene of an extraordinary type
of anticolonial resistance movement. An illiterate peasant named
Surantika Samin founded a nativist religion stressing family
and village loyalty, rejection of the money economy, and passive
resistance to any form of external authority. Fueled by resentment
against forestry regulations in this teakgrowing area, the movement
spread; taxes remained unpaid, schools unattended. The Messiah
himself was exiled in 1907, but seven years later his followers
were still keeping Dutch troops busy and Saminism survived into
the 1960s. Museum Grobogan, near Purwodadi, contains historical,
ethnographic and handicraft exhibits from this area.
DIENG
AND GEDONG SONGO
DIENG PLATEAU
Accommodation
Several small losmen and a restaurant on the plateau, but many
prefer to stay in Wonosobo, 1 hour down the mountain.
WONOSOBO
Accommodation
MODERATE Surya Asia, J1. J. A. Yani 137, tel: 22292. Sri Kencono,
J1. J. A. Yani 81, tel: 21522. Nirwana, J1. Resimen 18/36, tel:
21066. BUDGET. Citra, J1. Angkatan 45, tel: 21880. Wisma Duta,
J1. R. S. U. 3, tel: 21674. Widuri, J1. Resimen 18144.
Restaurants
Dieng Restaurant, J1. Angkatan 45/37. Asia Restaurant, J1. Angkatan
45133, tel: 21165.
GEDONG
SONGO
Usually visited from Semarang, but nearby Bandungan has several
hotels. You can see other historic sites on day excursions from
Yogyakarta.
AMBARAWA
AND MAGELANG
Museums
Railroad Museum, J1. Stasiun, Ambarawa. Daily 8 am-5 pm. Museum
Palagan Ambarawa (military), J11. Major Sugiopranoto, Ambarawa.
Daily 7 am-6 pm. Museum Diponegoro (Prince Diponegoro Memorial
Museum), J1. Diponegoro 1, Magelang, tel: 2308. Sun Wed 8 am-2
pm, Fri 8-11, Sat 8 am-1 pm, closed Thu. Museum Soedirman (General
Sudirman Memorial Museum), J1. Ade Irma Suryani C7, Magelang.
MonSat 8-12, closed Sun.
YOGYAKARTA
Accommodation
LUXURY. Ambarrukmo Palace, J1. Adisucipto, tel: 588488/588984.
Garuda, J1. Malioboro 60, tel: 566353. Mutiara Hotel, J1. Malioboro
18, tel: 563814. Purl Artha, J1. Cendrawasih 9, tel: 563288.
Sahid Garden, J1. Babarsari, tel: 587370. Sri Manganti, J1.
Urip Sumoharjo, tel: 2881. Sriwedari, J1. Adisucipto, km 5,
tel: 588288.
MODERATE.On
J1. Prawirotaman - Airlangga Hotel, no, 6-8, tel: 372829. Sriwijaya
Guesthouse, no. 7, el: 371870. Wisma Indah Guesthouse, no.16,
tel: 376021. Duta Guesthouse, no. 20, tel: 372064. Metro Guesthouse,
no. 7171, tel: 372364. Rose Guesthouse, no. 22, tel: 377991.
Arjuna Plaza, J11. Mangkulbumi 48, tel: 513063. Gajah Mada Guesthouse,
J1. Bulaksumur, Gajah Mada university
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