On my recent trip to Yogyakarta (Java, Indonesia) finding the underground mosque in the Taman Sari complex was my favorite experience, which was only possible with the help of a local guide.
During the mid-18th century, the Sultan of Yogyakarta began work on the Taman Sari Water Castle. Comprised of lavish gardens and pools, it also featured a bizarre man-made sea, connected beneath the ground with underwater tunnels and small island buildings. One of these island structures was used as a mosque, and was only accessible by underwater passage.
The tiny mosque, although basic, had all the necessary parts of a mosque including a mihrab, guiding worshippers toward Mecca. It also featured a series of staircases leading from the underwater entrances resembling MC Escher’s complex architecture work. Staircases lead up from five different doorways to a central platform and another staircase connects the five lower staircases to a higher doorway.
Today many of the remains of the great 17th century complex have been lost. The pools were emptied, which allowed for the discovery of many of the underground structures, but have destroyed the pristine castle quality. Human settlements have taken the place of the man-made lake, and much of the other buildings are ruins. In 1995, the entire complex was listed as a tentative World Heritage Site.
The Sultan of Yogyakarta! How curious his mind, to have conceived of all this in the first place!
(And yes, your photos are unmistakable. Speaking of curious and individual minds —)
Excellent shot. This would have been very difficult to light and you did very well. The rhythm and ‘movement’ of the shapes is quite satisfying and the eye lingers.
Hi Noelle, sorry for late reply, but still great to read it (again) after 3 months and thanks for your time and encouragement here, much appreciated!
Hope all is well in your snowy part of the world 😉
Cheers, Ron
Ha, thanks, thats good one! Same for me, posted this on my 500px-site and went back to see this to find out I missed replying to some comments 😉
Enjoy your weekend!
Hi Laurie, a reply from 2014, hope your campaign is going well, amazing to see you even have time to take great photos and post them!
Thanks for your enthousiasm here and everywhere always, good luck,
Ron
Dank je wel, Nick, dat is leuk om te horen, het licht was fraai door de ondergrondse ligging en latere uur, denk ik, mooie plek om te fotograferen!
Groet, Ron
Amazing structure. How wonderful for you to see it and share with us!When the person asked if you were a Canon or Nikon guy, I thought you are a “Chiaroscuro guy.” 🙂
I was very pleased to find it as I hoped it would look and thanks so much for the Chiaroscure guy, thats very flattering, even have a post named for that and always thinks the darkness in my photos tell as much as the light 😉
Thanks very much, Jane and I think it´s a minor item which camera is used, all is up to the photographer, could be a smartphone for that!
Greetings,
Ron
Hi Seonaid, I wasnt aware of this place when I booked for Yogjakarta, but was happy to find it just before we went while doing some research and then even impossible to find inside the old town with all its alleys and then suddenly this stairs down and tunnel to get you there, lucky we found a friendly local to help us out! I assume it was built like this to keep the sultans bathing and mosque visits totally out of sight of the public!
Thanks for stopping by, hope all is great,
Greetings from Malaysia,
Ron
This is excellent photography Ron. The view point and architecture naturally assist the composition but the colour saturation and, textures are beautifully managed and, of course, there is your trademark crispness throughout. Most importantly you have also conveyed a sense of atmosphere.
Hi Louis, thank you for your perfect explanation; I had an idea of how and what I wanted to do when I visited this place, although I had never seen it, apart from a handful of photos, but I knew the light had to be great and I love interiors with natural ligth coming from outside. Your last sentence is very important to me, something I´ve been trying to work on apart from the crispness and detail and technical ability!
Thanks for the compliment, much appreciated.
Greetings, Ron.
Thanks very much, Lisa, those things are what I like very much in old architecture and I guess I look for those places to visit as well, not only for photographing…
Hope you´ll have a great weekend,
Ron
Thanks very much! Actually the title of the post refers to an old drawing by Escher (like I said in this post it reminded me of that too) that my dad had in our game room as kids: http://www.wikiart.org/en/m-c-escher/convex-and-concave
All the best from Malaysia, greetings
Ron
What a interesting text, never heard about this underground mosque … This is what I like about having blog friends around the world … I always learn new things …
As usual, you have a fantastic photo in your post …
// Maria 🙂
Hi Maria, never heard of it before starting research on going to Yogjakarta and wanted to see some less touristic places as the temples too and although there were some people it was so hard to find without a guide and the story made it much more interesting too!
You´re so right about finding out so much new things around the world this way!
Thanks for the compliment, hope all is great in your part 😉
Ron
Oh leuk, Della, wist niet dat je oorspronkelijk uit Indonesie kwam; geweldig vond ik dit eerste kijkje, de band met Nederland was in Yogja nog veel sterker dan ik verwachtte. Dit smaakte (ook letterlijk 😉 in ieder geval naar meer en zou vooral ook meer van het binnenland en de minder toeristische plekken willen zien, maar er is zoveel moois in deze omgeving!
Groetjes en bedankt voor je reaktie,
Ron
Dank je, Harrie, inderdaad wel de fijnste lens om mee te werken als ik binnen in gebouwen fotografeer, verlaten of niet, je kan er verdacht veel op krijgen en vertekening is vrij minimaal, mooi om mee te spelen en blijft verbazen hoe wijd ie is 😉
Fijne week,
Ron
Thank you so much, Whitney, it is amazing to see so much of this part of the world; all these places that sounded far away and mystical now are easy to visit, still unbelievable!
Hope everything is good in Cairo (nice to finally follow your adventures too)?
Greetings,
Ron
Thanks, Carlos, i guess there are some of the tunnels that I think could be good enough, maybe more, havent checked thoroughly yet 😉
This one was the one I wanted to make and although it was quiet, all the visitors wanted a selfie in the middle, so I had to be patient to shoot it empty…
Greetings, Ron
You´re welcome, sometimes I think I should use more words but I don´t want too long a story; it ahs to be the photo that does the talking 😉
Have a great week
Thanks very much, Margaret, i loved the simplicity of it but also the story of it only being accessible thru underwater tunnels makes it more mysterious 😉
Hope you´re having a great week, greetings,
Ron
That´s great to hear, Paula, always hope there´s something distinctly my own in my photos 😉
Thanks and I´m a Canon 600D guy!
Have a great holiday and hopefully some good weather,
Ron
Looks like something drawn by Escher.
Yeah, my thoughts exactly, like I said in the little too long text 😉
Thanks for stopping by, Weasel!
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wow… this looks incredible…brilliant image rich in texture and geometry…
Such a shame I never got to see this complex! Great photo though Rondje! 🙂
Another amazing place and excellent capture.
The Sultan of Yogyakarta! How curious his mind, to have conceived of all this in the first place!
(And yes, your photos are unmistakable. Speaking of curious and individual minds —)
Excellent shot. This would have been very difficult to light and you did very well. The rhythm and ‘movement’ of the shapes is quite satisfying and the eye lingers.
like this one!
Awesome!
Mooie warme kleuren en mooi breedhoek beeld!
I know how much trouble I have keeping my images centered and balanced with my wide-angle, and your shot looks damn near perfect. Awesome photo.
Quite amazing! what an experience that must have been.
The warmth of the tones pull you right in.
Hi Noelle, sorry for late reply, but still great to read it (again) after 3 months and thanks for your time and encouragement here, much appreciated!
Hope all is well in your snowy part of the world 😉
Cheers, Ron
No worries. Your late reply caused me to return to the comment to remember which piece. Now I get to enjoy it again….
Ha, thanks, thats good one! Same for me, posted this on my 500px-site and went back to see this to find out I missed replying to some comments 😉
Enjoy your weekend!
Wat een ruimte! En mooie warme kleuren.
Dank je, Wilma, prachtige plek om te zijn en te fotograferen, weer es wat anders!
Sorry voor late reaktie, groetjes, Ron.
What a fascinating story! An underground, man made ocean. incredible!
Your photograph allows me to try to visualize what it might have been like.
Hi Laurie, a reply from 2014, hope your campaign is going well, amazing to see you even have time to take great photos and post them!
Thanks for your enthousiasm here and everywhere always, good luck,
Ron
Great perspective, the light just floats me into the place.
Dank je wel, Nick, dat is leuk om te horen, het licht was fraai door de ondergrondse ligging en latere uur, denk ik, mooie plek om te fotograferen!
Groet, Ron
Como Siempre Una Forografía Maravillosa, Muy Buena… Un Saludo.
Lo siento por esto respuasta muy tarde, pero muchas gracias por tu cumplido, Joserasan!
Saludos, Ron.
Amazing structure. How wonderful for you to see it and share with us!When the person asked if you were a Canon or Nikon guy, I thought you are a “Chiaroscuro guy.” 🙂
I was very pleased to find it as I hoped it would look and thanks so much for the Chiaroscure guy, thats very flattering, even have a post named for that and always thinks the darkness in my photos tell as much as the light 😉
Thanks very much, Jane and I think it´s a minor item which camera is used, all is up to the photographer, could be a smartphone for that!
Greetings,
Ron
I had never heard of this place…..how amazing. Why was he inspired to build underground and with so much water?
Hi Seonaid, I wasnt aware of this place when I booked for Yogjakarta, but was happy to find it just before we went while doing some research and then even impossible to find inside the old town with all its alleys and then suddenly this stairs down and tunnel to get you there, lucky we found a friendly local to help us out! I assume it was built like this to keep the sultans bathing and mosque visits totally out of sight of the public!
Thanks for stopping by, hope all is great,
Greetings from Malaysia,
Ron
Great shot Ron…..and what a fascinating place 😊
Thanks a lot, Mark, my favorite place inside Yogjakarta and I love to shoot places like this 😉
Greetz, Ron
Great shot! You captured the place perfectly!
Thats very kind of you to see, Indah! I love places like this, the simplicity, yet old textured walls, inspire me a lot!
Happy travels to you,
Ron.
Wouldn’t Game of Thrones be at home here! Fabulous shot Ron and so happy you made it there!
Ha, yeah the colors look medieval, i can see some cruel beheading or something in the center terrace, yikes 😉
Thanks, Patti, all the best from KL,
Ron
This is excellent photography Ron. The view point and architecture naturally assist the composition but the colour saturation and, textures are beautifully managed and, of course, there is your trademark crispness throughout. Most importantly you have also conveyed a sense of atmosphere.
Hi Louis, thank you for your perfect explanation; I had an idea of how and what I wanted to do when I visited this place, although I had never seen it, apart from a handful of photos, but I knew the light had to be great and I love interiors with natural ligth coming from outside. Your last sentence is very important to me, something I´ve been trying to work on apart from the crispness and detail and technical ability!
Thanks for the compliment, much appreciated.
Greetings, Ron.
Such beautiful light and texture.
This is a wonderful image!
Thanks very much, Lisa, those things are what I like very much in old architecture and I guess I look for those places to visit as well, not only for photographing…
Hope you´ll have a great weekend,
Ron
nice! reminds me of an MC Esher drawing
Thanks very much! Actually the title of the post refers to an old drawing by Escher (like I said in this post it reminded me of that too) that my dad had in our game room as kids:
http://www.wikiart.org/en/m-c-escher/convex-and-concave
All the best from Malaysia, greetings
Ron
What a interesting text, never heard about this underground mosque … This is what I like about having blog friends around the world … I always learn new things …
As usual, you have a fantastic photo in your post …
// Maria 🙂
Hi Maria, never heard of it before starting research on going to Yogjakarta and wanted to see some less touristic places as the temples too and although there were some people it was so hard to find without a guide and the story made it much more interesting too!
You´re so right about finding out so much new things around the world this way!
Thanks for the compliment, hope all is great in your part 😉
Ron
Je bent in mijn land geweest Ron, geweldig vakantie photo. De Yogja stad altijd interesant vooral de keraton. Mooi herinnering trip photo 🙂
Oh leuk, Della, wist niet dat je oorspronkelijk uit Indonesie kwam; geweldig vond ik dit eerste kijkje, de band met Nederland was in Yogja nog veel sterker dan ik verwachtte. Dit smaakte (ook letterlijk 😉 in ieder geval naar meer en zou vooral ook meer van het binnenland en de minder toeristische plekken willen zien, maar er is zoveel moois in deze omgeving!
Groetjes en bedankt voor je reaktie,
Ron
Prachtige foto, Ron. Die 10mm. lens doet het erg goed hier. De intense kleuren en texturen zijn ook krachtig en mooi. Groet, harrie.
Dank je, Harrie, inderdaad wel de fijnste lens om mee te werken als ik binnen in gebouwen fotografeer, verlaten of niet, je kan er verdacht veel op krijgen en vertekening is vrij minimaal, mooi om mee te spelen en blijft verbazen hoe wijd ie is 😉
Fijne week,
Ron
This is absolutely phenomenal. Wow, what a journey!
Thank you so much, Whitney, it is amazing to see so much of this part of the world; all these places that sounded far away and mystical now are easy to visit, still unbelievable!
Hope everything is good in Cairo (nice to finally follow your adventures too)?
Greetings,
Ron
What an amazing location! Great image! Any more from this place? Fantastic!
Thanks, Carlos, i guess there are some of the tunnels that I think could be good enough, maybe more, havent checked thoroughly yet 😉
This one was the one I wanted to make and although it was quiet, all the visitors wanted a selfie in the middle, so I had to be patient to shoot it empty…
Greetings, Ron
Thanks for some back story… just amazing.
You´re welcome, sometimes I think I should use more words but I don´t want too long a story; it ahs to be the photo that does the talking 😉
Have a great week
What a wonderful structure: and of course your picture tells, as usual, an equally wonderful and atmospheric story
Thanks very much, Margaret, i loved the simplicity of it but also the story of it only being accessible thru underwater tunnels makes it more mysterious 😉
Hope you´re having a great week, greetings,
Ron
Fabulous photograph Ron!
Thank you very much, Adrian! Much appreciated coming from you!
Wish you all the best, greetings, Ron
I knew this was yours the second I saw it. Can’t put my finger on it, but it has your signature all around. Are you a Canon or Nikon guy?
That´s great to hear, Paula, always hope there´s something distinctly my own in my photos 😉
Thanks and I´m a Canon 600D guy!
Have a great holiday and hopefully some good weather,
Ron