KASUNANAN SURAKARTA, A Javanese Palace with European Touch
Category : Jogja Beyond

Kasunanan Palace called you. The palace jammed by people. They walked, ate, spoke and bought merchandises, such as dolls, balloons, and kites. This sacred place transformed during Saparan Month-the month used to celebrate Sekaten old traditional market. The market located
on a square area close to the palace. The colorful tents blocked the palace behind.  The Palace is really worth to visit  while you're in Jogja and curious about this Palace other than Sultan's Palace. Since its location in Solo city range only about 60 kilometres east of Jogja, 1.5 hours by car or an hour of train riding will get you there.  

You be able to find a quite place there. A big hall greeted you at opposite direction of the market. The Javanese called a hall as pendopo. The silent situation surrounded the area. You permitted to sleep or walking around the area. That's citizen public space. The street close to the pendopo separated the palace into two different big parts. The street bordered by high solid white wall. Local people believed the street operated as a secret escape way in war era. Time changed many things. The street transformed as a shortcut way to enter Sultan's home. The Sultan's big steel gate placed in the front of his home. People passed the Sultan's house through the gate.

The other part told a different story. A big plaza built in close proximity to Sultan's palace. People walked in the pedestrian during their plaza window shopping time. A nice spot constructed at the inside of the palace. It looks like Chinese minaret, but install a western style on the ornament. The Sultan watch the city from the minaret, so please be aware, sometimes you'll see a man looking up in a window of the minaret. He's probably The Sultan!

Inside the palace, just like walk on a big scene history of civilization, because you won't see only gamelan, keris or batik, but you'll find god and goddess from the Greek century. So, why will it happen? Do the god and goddess take a walk to the Kasunanan Palace? No, they didn't, but sent by the colonial government to the palace, as a precious gift for The Sultan. In the palace, you can see the sculpture stand on a public space, with a very good view. 
   
Don't be satisfied with the god and the goddess, you can walk on the museum with your guide. There're many things that you may see on, such as sacred cart, puppet, portraits of royal family, sacred dwelling, etc. But how about The Sultan? Can the visitor meet him? Yes, probably, because he will go to the blue minaret to pray several times a day. So, you can ask your local guide to take to the sacred area where The Sultan will be passed away. He wears beautiful traditional clothes, made by top tailor with a sophisticated detail put on.

Text : Albertus Indratno
Photo : Andi Kurniawan


KASUNANAN SURAKARTA
Location.
Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia.
Note.
It needs 1,5 hours to get there from Yogyakarta

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