Building Asian Africa: the Place was formed by the Association and the International co-operation

The building that was located in the road Asian Africa this was established by a Dutch architect who was named Van Galenlast and C.O. Wolf Shoomaker. This building became very famous since the holding of the Conference Asian Africa in 1955, afterwards the Conference of Student Asia Africa in 1956 and the Conference Islam Asian Africa that kept the texts and legacy Asian Africa that was famous. This building was opened for the public every time work day and was easy to be reached by using the bus of the route city of Cicaheum-Cibeureum, Museum that put forward the collection and things of photographs of three dimensions that were connected with the Conference Asian Africa 1955.

Building Architecture
Building was drafted by Van Gallen Last and C.P. Wolff Schoemaker. Both of them were the Professor to Technische Hogeschool (the IT College), that is ITB now, two Dutch architectures that were famous in the period, this Building was very thick with nuances art deco and this grand building was seen from his floor that was made from artificial Italia marble that good , rooms of the place drank-drank and relaxed was made from wood cikenhout, whereas for his information was used lights of the crystal ray that depended sparkling. This building occupied the area measuring 7.500 m2.

History Building
History this building named SOCITEIT CONCORDIA was utilised as the place of recreation by a group of Dutch community that was domiciled at the Bandung city and surrounding area. They were the officials of the plantation, the officer, the dignitary, the businessman, and the other quite rich circle. On the holiday day, especially tonight, this building was filled by them to watch the performance of art, eating dinner.

In the Japanese occupation period this building was name Dai Toa Kaman with his function as the centre of culture. In the proclamation period of Republic of Indonesia independence on August 17 1945 this building was used as the Indonesian youth post in order to faces the Japanese troops that at that time reluctantly handed over his authority to Indonesia.

After the Indonesian government began to be formed (1946 - 1950) that was marked by the existence of the government of Haminte Bandung, Country Pasundan, and Recomba West Java, Gedung Concordia was utilised again as the meeting building public. here normally was held by the performance of art, the party, the restaurant, and the meeting of the other public.

With the decision of the Republic of Indonesia government (1954) that maintained the Bandung City as the place of the Conference Asian Africa, then the Concordia Building was chosen as the place of this conference. At the time the Concordia Building was the place building of the meeting that was most big and grandest in the Bandung City. And his location was then very strategic in the middle of the Bandung City as well as and close to the best hotel in this city, that is the Savoy Homann Hotel and the Preanger Hotel.

And from early 1955 this Building will be restored and matched his requirement as the place of the quality International conference, and the development him was handled by the Service of province public works West Java that command by Ir. R. Srigati Santoso, and the restoration executive him was: 1) the Bureau of the noble, under the command of R. Machdar Prawiradilaga 2) PT. Alico, under the command of M.J. Ali 3) PT. AIA, under the command of R.M. Madyono.

After being formed Konstituante Republic Of Indonesia as results of the general election in 1955, the Independent Building was made the Konstituante Building. Because Konstituante it was considered failed in carrying out the task especially, that is determining the foundation of the country and basic regulations of the country, then Konstituante was dispersed by President's Decree on July 5 1959. Further, the Independent Building was made the place of the Planning Nasional Body activity and afterwards became the Building People's Consultative Assembly Now(MPRS) that was formed in 1960. Although the function of the Independent Building kept changing from time to time in line with the change that was experienced in the struggle maintained, organised, and filled up Republic of Indonesia independence, the name of the Independent Building continue to Buried in the face part of this building.

During 1965 in the Independent a Building was held by the Conference Islam Asian Africa. During 1971 the MPRS activity in the Independent Building completely was shifted to Jakarta. After erupting the revolt of G30S/ PKI, Gedung Merdeka was in charge of by the military agency and some of the buildings this was made the place of the political prisoner G30S/ PKI. in July 1966, the maintenance of the Independent Building was handed over by the government of the centre to the Level Regional Government of I Propinsi West Java, that furthermore by the Level Regional Government of I Propinsi West Java was handed again over by his implementation to the Level Regional Government Ii Kotamadya Bandung. Three years afterwards, on July 6 1968, headed by MPRS in Jakarta changed the instruction about the Independent Building (the former MPRS Building) with the provisions that that was handed over was his parent building, whereas other buildings that were located at the back of the Independent Building were still continuing to become MPRS responsibility.

In March 1980 this Building was again entrusted to the place of the Conference warning Asian Africa that was 25th and in Puncak his warning was declared the Conference Museum Asian Africa by Soeharto President Republic Of Indonesia – 2.

Gold Kubah Mosque ( KUBAH EMAS MOSQUE ) - The Most Grand Mosque in South-East Asia

The Kubah Emas (Gold Kubah) mosque was a grand mosque that stood in the Depok City, Propinsi West Java. The typical characteristics of this mosque were located to his turret roof that was made from gold 24 rust. This mosque building had the area around 8 hectare and occupied the area of the land measuring 60 hectare. It seems, because of his glory, this mosque was often acknowledged as the grandest mosque in South-East Asia, exceeded the Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta.

This mosque was declared on December 31 2006 by the name of the mosque of Dian Al Mahri. The date of this appointment coincided with the Iduladha Public Holiday 1427 of H. Material materials this mosque was at once imported from European countries and Brazil, like gold, light, and granite from Italia, as well as several material other from Spain, Norway, and Brazil. His development was then undertaken by the professional power from overseas and ate the cost billions rupiah.

The Kubah Emas (Gold Kubah) mosque was built by a businessman from Banten named Hj. The lamp of Djuriah Al Rasyid. This rich businessman bought the land in the Depok area since 1996 and began to be constructive him since 2001. Pembanguan the mosque was finished at the end of 2006 and was opened for the exact public on December 31 2006.

One of the uniqueness that could be witnessed by this mosque visitor being the middle turret the mosque. The mosque of Dian Al Mahri had the numbering turret of five, namely one main turret and four small turrets. The form of the main turret resembled the Taj Mahal building turret in India. This turret had the low diameter 16 metre, the middle diameter 20 metre, and high 25 metre. While other small turrets had the low diameter 6 metre, the middle diameter 7 metre, and high 8 metre. All this turret was covered gold with a thickness of 2 through to 3 millimetre and was illustrated by the crystal mosaic. Moreover, in corners of the mosque also stood six towers that had the shape of the hexagon (heksagonal) high around 40 metre. The six towers was wrapped by grey granite stones that were imported from Italia with the ornament coiled. To the peak of these towers also was gotten the turret that was covered by gold. Six towers symbolised the harmonious number faith, whereas five turrets symbolised harmonious Islam.

In this mosque also was gotten light was suspended that was brought directly in from Italia seriously around 8 ton. Moreover, the visitor could also witness the relief special characteristics that decorated Mihrab space that was made from gold 18 rust. This relief special characteristics could be also seen in the fence of restraint on the floor of two, the calligraphy decoration in the mosque ceiling, and the pillar crown of the numbering mosque 168 stratified the material prado or gold. Especially for the mosque ceiling was gotten the calligraphy decoration was stylish Kuffi that was made from the stratified brass plaque gold.

If being seen generally, this mosque architecture was similar to mosque buildings in the Middle East, that is with the typical characteristics of the turret, the tower, the page in, as well as the decorative ornamental feature with the geometric element and his obelisk.

As a grand building and memesona, this mosque had the building and the so wide page. The area of the mosque building around 8.000 square metre and could accommodate approximately 15,000 as far as 20,000 congregations. The room of the mosque was divided on main space, mezzanine space, the page in, selasar upper, selasar outside, and other functional spaces. The main room of the mosque was dominated by the colour monokrom with the colour of the foundation of cream. These colours appeared to give calm and comfortable nuances for the visitor that was in this mosque.

To the mosque exterior was gotten the area garden that orbited the mosque. This garden was overgrown shady trees that could show the cool and beautiful atmosphere for the visitor. The concept of this garden arrangement was collaboration between architecture of the mosque building had nuances of the Middle East and the atmosphere of the tropical Indonesian environment.

The mosque of Agung Demak was a mosque that was eldest in Indonesia

The mosque of Agung Demak was a mosque that was eldest in Indonesia. This mosque was located in the Kauman village, Demak, Central Java. This mosque was trusted had been the place of the gathering of the Muslim scholars (the guardian) the disseminator of the Islam religion, was acknowledged also as Walisongo, to discuss the spreading of the Islam religion in the Javanese Land especially and Indonesia generally. The founder of this mosque it was estimated was Raden Patah, that is the first king from the Demak Sultanate.

This mosque had parent buildings and the veranda. The parent building had four main poles that were acknowledged as the teacher's heritage. The veranda building was the building was open. His roof had the shape of the pyramid that was supported eight poles that were acknowledged as the Majapahit Heritage. In the location of the mosque of Agung Demak of the complex, was gotten several of the kings's graves of the Demak Sultanate and his servants. There also was gotten a museum, that contained various matters concerning the story of the mosque establishment of Agung Demak.

Language Indonesia...
Masjid Agung Demak adalah sebuah mesjid yang tertua di Indonesia. Masjid ini terletak di desa Kauman, Demak, Jawa Tengah. Masjid ini dipercayai pernah merupakan tempat berkumpulnya para ulama (wali) penyebar agama Islam, disebut juga Walisongo, untuk membahas penyebaran agama Islam di Tanah Jawa khususnya dan Indonesia pada umumnya. Pendiri masjid ini diperkirakan adalah Raden Patah, yaitu raja pertama dari Kesultanan Demak.

Masjid ini mempunyai bangunan-bangunan induk dan serambi. Bangunan induk memiliki empat tiang utama yang disebut saka guru. Bangunan serambi merupakan bangunan terbuka. Atapnya berbentuk limas yang ditopang delapan tiang yang disebut Saka Majapahit.Di dalam lokasi kompleks Masjid Agung Demak, terdapat beberapa makam raja-raja Kesultanan Demak dan para abdinya. Di sana juga terdapat sebuah museum, yang berisi berbagai hal mengenai riwayat berdirinya Masjid Agung Demak

Rumah Gadang Minangkabau

Traditional House
Minangkabau Traditional house is called 'Rumah Gadang' that means big house or Rumah Adat that means customary house. It is called Rumah Gadang, because of its big size, but it refers to the big function of the house it self. Rumah Gadang in Minangkabau belongs to all members of relatives along the mother's line called 'kaum'. The function is as the place for all traditional ceremonies like wedding party or inauguration of a head of clan. The original traditional house is made of wood and bamboo for the back wall. The roof is made of palm vibe. It is about 12 to 20 meters long and 6 to 8 meters wide the position of floor is two to two and half meter above the ground.


The location of a traditional house stretch from west to east, while the numbers of the rooms are 3,5,7,9 & even though 17. The construction is expended up with a horn shape roof. The roof looks like the horn of buffalo with 4 to 6 points stretch along the house and a point in addition forward for the front door and ladder. For the expanding form of the construction, there is no any right angle connection to the pillars with the horizontal bars of the house. Both, the upper and lower horizontal bars of the building.

The inside of the house is divided into 4 parts. They are living quarters along one side of that house, which consist of five or more rooms; another side in front of the rooms is a hall for meeting. In some houses, the meeting hall made with a raised floor as the place for the household in a meeting. At both ends of the house are rooms with a higher floor called 'Anjuang'. The rooms at Anjuang are used only for a special occasion, and usually used by a newly married daughter of the family.
The Traditional House is difference based on their clan:
1. Bodi Chaniago traditional houses.
2. The house has smooth floor and doesn't have anjuang.
3. Koto Piliang traditional houses
4. The house has anjuang.

The traditional house based on their shape:
1. Rumah gadang Rajo Babanding.
 Consists of 5 rooms, 30 poles, 4 slightly horn shapes

2.Rumah Gadang Rajo Maharam.
Consists of 40 poles. It is called Gajah Maharam because the whole shapes look like elephant that sitting on the floor with the legs together and bent back beside the body.

3.Rumah Gadang Sarambi Papek
It is smaller than Rumah Gadang Rajo Babanding and consists of 3,4,5 rooms coinciding with the numbers of pole and there is no "paserek" and bedroom here.

In front of the traditional house stands rice barns used to keep food supply namely:
Sitinjau Lauik
Located on the left side with 6 poles and functioned as paddy storage to provide the common traditional need of expense.
Sibayau-bayau
Located on the right side with 6 poles and functioned as paddy storage for daily need.
Sitangka Lapa
Located on the left side with 4 poles and has function as paddy storage for disaster.

The traditional house wall and the rice barns are adorned with colorful carving, that very interesting and has a special meaning reflecting to Minang Philosophy "Alam Takambang jadi Guru" means the whole nature becomes the teachers.

Central Java : Borobudur Temple

The earliest mention of Borobudur in Java's recorded history came not a monk. Nor was it from a scholar. No, the first person to stumbled on Borobudur was Ki Mas Dana, a rebel, who rose against the ruler of central Java but was defeated. So he fled to the mystical mountain called Bara-Budur, where the king's troops surrounded him and had him executed. Fifty years later, the monument was again mentioned, when another visitor, this time a crown prince, paid a visit in defiance to a prophecy that royalty who visited the "mountains of a thousand statues" would surely die. The rebellious young prince wanted to see the image of a "warrior in a cage". The king sent men to bring him back, but when they found him, he vomitted blood and died.

And so was the curse of Borobudur ingrained into Javanese belief. It was a stone mountain which the Javanese know about, but avoided like a plague. And it would have remained so, to the loss of the whole world, if not for an insightful British lieutenant governor. 

The year was 1814. Sitting in a mansion in Semarang, on Java's north coast, Stamford Raffles listened with rapt curiosity of this great temple ruin deep in the jungle of Central Java. Fascinated, Raffles sent H.C. Cornelius, his Dutch military engineer, to investigate. The Javanese brought Cornelius to a huge ruin that was so big that it took 200 men a whole month and a half to cut and burn the vegetation around it, and to remove the dirt cloaking the stones. Cornelius made many drawings, 39 of which still surviving, and dispatched these to Raffles. 

The discovery of Borobudur took place 47 years before Henri Mouhot called the world's attention to another remarkable Asian ruin, Angkor of Cambodia. It was for European colonist their first glimpse of a high level of civilization flourishing in ancient Southeast Asia.

Construction of Borobudur probably took place around 760 AD, and completed around 830, making it older than the major monuments of Angkor but younger than those of Anuradhapura. Work on it probably did not progress at the same rate over that 70-year period. The construction proceeded in spurts, with many intervals when work stopped all together. Study showed that among the setbacks included a part that collapsed during construction. The plan probably changed several times, and these modifications resulted in even more work. 

Restoration work for Borobudur started quite early. A committee was formed back in 1900 to consider measures for preserving it. The government selected a 28-year-old second lieutenant called Theodore van Erp to head the project, and he proved to be an excellent choice.

The committee's initial plan was intended simply to protect Borobudur from further damage. It called for the erection of a pyramidal roof of galvanised iron over the whole structure - an idea which was fortunately rejected. Instead, the decision was taken to fix the stones that are in danger of collapse, repair the balustrades and restore the gates and stupas. Van Erp started work in 1907. Although his initial order was simply to preserve the extant monument, he found so many missing pieces that he proposed an extensive restoration of all the balustrades, niches, stairs, gates and stupas. 

Although this initial restoration did much good to Borobudur, it did not solve the problem of water percolating through the cracks between the stones down into the ground, and into the foundation. This causes the walls to sag and tilt until the whole structure threatened to collapse. So another committee was formed in 1929 to monitor Borobudur, but the onset of the Great Depression, followed by World War II prevented the colonial government from taking any further measures to deal with the problem.

It was only after Indonesia gained its independence that the new Indonesian government had a chance to take steps to preserve Borobudur. In 1955, with help from Unesco, the site was examined by a Belgian expert. Although the government earmarked funds for Borobudur restoration in 1964, work had to be suspended following a coup attempt. 

Only in 1971 efforts recommenced to preserve the monument, and restoration official began in 1973. The project required the dismantling of the whole monument so that a new, complex drainage system can be put in place. This process is called anastylosis, and was successfully carried out in the 1930's on another Southeast Asian ruins, the temple of Banteay Srei at Angkor. It was the world's biggest jigsaw puzzle, with a million or so stones that had to be removed. The outer ones were carefully numbered, cleaned, treated and replaced. All told, the project cost $25 million, and took over ten years to complete, during which time Borobudur had to be closed to the public. It was only reopened to the public by former President Suharto on 23 February, 1983. 

Borobudur was built by the Sailendra Dynasty. It is amazing to note that this dynasty appeared for only for a short period in Java history, from 778 - 856 AD. After 856 AD, the primarily Hindu dynasty was overcome by another, the Sanjaya Dynasty which is Buddhist. Some scholars believed that the Sanjaya Dynasty, which is credited with building the Prambanan temple, had appeared long before the shortlived Sailendra Dynasty, and continued after the demise of Sailendra Dynasty.

Borobudur is designed as a mandala - a geometric aid for meditation. It is in fact a model of the Buddhist cosmos. Borobudur has 10 levels, and these 10 levels are categorized into three distinct parts which correspond to the three divisions of the Mahayana Buddhist universe: khamadhatu, the low-life, so to speak; rupadhatu, the realm of "form"; and arupadhatu, or the state of detachment from worldly being. A pilgrim would circumambulate the monument in clockwise fashion, starting with the reliefs on the eastern staircase, and going around the monument before ascending to the next level, and so on, until he reaches the top. That's a journey of ten circles around Borobudur, covering a distance totalling five kilometres. As the founder of AsiaExplorers, I have fond memories of my first encounter with Borobudur. It was on a night bus. An Indonesian movie was playing, a sort of epic drama. It was shot in Borobudur, and I watched transfixed at the massive stone monument, unable to believe that such a structure do exist in real life. 

It must be close to thirty years later that the dream of visiting Borobudur come reality. Between then, the realisation that Borobudur is indeed real was reenforced by visits by relatives and friends, and my own mother, who brought back photographs she shot there. 

It was a dream come true for me to finally stand on the terraces of Borobudur and view the lush Kedu Plain, with the horizon guarded by the active volcanoes. In order to fully appreciate the monument, I visited it twice on June 21 and 22, 2004. But even then, it was impossible for me to fully appreciate all the bas-reliefs. Many appeared eroded beyond recognition, having weathered the elements for so many centuries. 

Through AsiaExplorers Borobudur page, I hope to give you a glimpse of this marvellous monument. I hope you will enjoy this online exploration and perhaps one day, have the chance to view it in person.

Jakarta : MONAS (Monumen Nasional)

The Monumen Nasional (or Tugu Monas, the National Monument tower) is a 450 ft (137 m) tall tower in Central Jakarta, symbolizing the fight for Indonesia's independence. Construction began in 1961 under Sukarno and was not finished until 1975 under Suharto. It is topped by a 14.5 ton bronze flame, which is plated in 35 kg (1,125 troy ounces) of gold.

Visitors can take an elevator up to a platform with a view of Medan Merdeka Park, Istiqlal Mosque, and the city. Inside the base of the monument is an exhibition on the country's Declaration of Independence and several dioramas showing the history of Indonesia.

Monument design
The design of the monument is meant to combine elements of masculine and feminine. The design based on Lingga-Yoni, the symbol of fertility in ancient Hindu-Javanese belief. The phallic shaft comes toward the ground and is engulfed by square base meant to symbolize fertility. The monument body was made of steel and concrete covered with italian white marble. On the top of the tower there's a square terrace that can be reach by visitors by elevator. From here visitors can see an aerial view of Jakarta. The monument is crowned by gold-coated flame, right on the top of the peak terrace. This golden flame is intended to symbolize the spirit of freedom and the struggle for independence of Indonesian people.

Bukittinggi : Jam Gadang (Clock Tower)

Jam Gadang (literally "Massive Clock") is a clocktower and major landmark of the city of Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is located in the centre of the city, near the the main market, Pasar Atas, and is a tourist attraction.

History
The structure was build in 1926 during the Dutch colonial era, as a gift from the Queen to city's controleur. It was designed by architects Yazin and Sutan Gigi Ameh. Originally a rooster figure was placed on the apex, but it was changed into a Jinja-like ornament during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia. Following Indonesian independence, it was reshaped to its present form resembling traditional Minangkabaun roofs (see Rumah gadang). It is said to have cost 3,000 Guilder.

Clock structure
The clock's diameter is 80 centimeters, the base's dimension is 13 metres in length and 4 metres wide, and it stands 26 metres tall.

One unique feature of the clock is that it uses the IIII for the number 4 instead of its traditional Roman Number IV.

Tourism
Given its iconic appearance, the structure is a frequent object of local souvenirs. It is imprinted on apparels, painted, used as a sculpting model, and so forth. As of January 2008 it cost 50000 rupiahs (around US$ 5) to enter the tower.

Its plaza usually serves as the centre of New Year celebration in Bukittinggi for thousands of visitors to the city.