These are my last and 1st official cards from Indonesia, both showing the Borobudur Temple in Central Java, Indonesia. The temple is classified as UNESCO WHS since 1991.
Photo: Agus Leonardus
ID-102400, sent by Juned.
"Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument
in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square
platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief
panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the center of the top
platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.The
monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist
pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and
follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through
the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely Kāmadhātu (the world of desire),
Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness).
During the journey the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of
stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the
balustrades.
Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the
fourteenth century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the
Javanese conversion to Islam. Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked
in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the then British ruler of Java, who was
advised of its location by native Indonesians. Borobudur has since been
preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was
undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO,
following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage; once a year Buddhists in Indonesia
celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia's single most
visited tourist attraction." - in: wikipedia
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