This building was built in 1757 on the former gardens of the Kraton. It was a place of rest and meditation along with being a defence area and a hiding place. It once consisted of four areas; a large man made lake in the west, a bathing complex and pools in the centre, pavilions and pools in the south and a smaller lake in the east. Today the only part that still remains is the central bathing complex. The rest has become kampung (village).
The Water Castle was built with a mixture of Javanese and
also Portuguese architecture. The central
swimming complex which is the only remaining part of the Water Castle was
specifically for the Sultan and his wives use.
There was a large pool which was for the Sultan's wives and their
daughters, whilst the Sultan had his very own private pool. There was also a tower in which the Sultan
could sit and watch over his wives as they swam. The Sultan also built a sauna into the suite
of rooms which were his.
Despite the age of the buildings they were in reasonable
condition and there had been some restoration work done on certain parts of the
Tanmansari. The architecture was really
interesting to look at in terms of the influences which could be
identified.
After walking around the Water Castle we then ventured
out to the kampung alongside the castle and walked through the underground
mosque which was located within the kampung.
By this stage were all very aware of how long ago it was
that we had breakfast, so when given the option to have lunch or go to the
Batik factory, which was the next visit on our itinerary, we unanimously
decided that it was time for lunch, so we headed to lunch at Janur Resto. Here we were challenged by our Asia Education
Foundation leader Deryn to order our lunch in Indonesian - of which most of us
did a pretty good job - so the waitress told us - but then again I think that
she may have just been feeling sorry for this group of Australians who
were probably mangling her mother tongue!!!!
Our lunch was absolutely delicious and it was here that
the group was introduced to the delights of the lemon (or lime or orange)
squash. A thirst quenching drink, which
consisted of freshly squeezed juice, a sugar syrup, ice and soda water. I think since then it has been the drink of
choice for many.
Back onto the bus after a delicious lunch and then off to
the Batik factory. Batik is a
traditional method of using wax and dye to decorate and pattern material which
is then used to produce a range of different pieces of clothing and other
items. At the batik factory we were able
to view the process from the very beginning, where the pattern is traced on to
the material by hand. The batik then
receives it first application of wax, which is not clear and white like we
would imagine the wax to be, but rather brown in colour. The batik then also has wax added where white
is included into the pattern. The
material is then dyed and wax added to keep the dye colur. This continues until the design and it's
colors are complete. The wax is then
melted from the fabric using hot water.
The batik workers were extremely talented people. One of the women that we talked to said that
she had been in her job for twenty years.
Imagine how much batik wax she would have used??????
There was also a group of Indonesian students, who were
all studying tourism, at the Batik
factory. Learning about the Batik
process was part of their course. If
they were to gain a job as a local guide, then they needed to know about the
process. They were very keen to practice
their English skills with us. More than
one of them also reeled off a number of language that they were currently
learning so that they could be more effective in their communication with their
prospective future clients.
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