New guidebook offers deep insights of Yogyakarta

New guidebook offers deep insights of Yogyakarta

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta is home to hundreds of both historical and
archaeological sites that might be of interest to adventurous
travelers. But where they are or how to get there the easiest way
is not easy in the absence of a guide book.

This issue motivated former director of Yogyakarta French
Cultural Center Jean-Pascal Elbaz to write a book about the
sites. And with the help of writer M. Rizky Sasono and
artist/illustrator Agung "Leak" Kurniawan, Jean-Pascal, better
known as Pascal, made his dream a reality.

For the book, they visited over 200 sites surrounding
Yogyakarta, the nearby towns of Klaten, Muntilan and Magelang,
and carried out some research. Cowriter Ferry Ardyanto was also
recruited to prepare the Indonesian text while translator
Sekar Paramita was responsible for the English translation.
Jakarta-based publisher PT Enrique Indonesia was invited to
publish the book.

Finally, the book, titled Situs-situs Marjinal Jogja, or
Sanctuaires Retrouves Jogja (Jogja Sites on the Margins), was
launched in late August, a day before Pascal left the country for
a similar post in Madras, India. The book is written in
Indonesian, French and English.

"There were so many sites here but I could not find a single
book about them," said Pascal during the book launch.

Pascal first came up with the idea for writing the book some
seven years back, when he went sightseeing around the city.

But although he had been assigned as CCF director in the city
since September 1997, he started working on the book only two
years ago. "I initially planned to write the book all by myself,
but I found that very difficult," he said.

Looking through the 133-page book, one can find detailed
information that will assist travelers to find particular sites
more easily and comfortably, showing the result of careful and
repeated field surveys.

Sites in the book are in five groups, based on location. The
groups include sites at Ratu Boko Temple, Prambanan Temple,
Borobudur Temple, and in towns -- Klaten and Yogyakarta.

"The book is aimed to guide those wanting to do sightseeing
around Yogyakarta during their spare time, enjoying marginal
sites, which add to the special atmosphere of the city's culture
and history," Pascal said.

Moreover, the book does not only provide information on how to
get to a destination or a description of the site, but also
includes legends and myths surrounding each site.

For instance, the description of Ratu Boko temple complex,
located some two kilometers south of renowned Prambanan temple
includes a mythical story about a king who had the habit of
eating human flesh.

"Myths are an important part of the book as they helped to
form a relationship between sites and their surrounding
communities, even showing connections between one site and
others," Agung said.

Unlike ordinary guide books, which are full of glossy
pictures, this one provides readers with colorful illustrations
created by artist Agung Kurniawan. Some might find the
illustrations attractive but others can also find them disturbing
-- like an illustration of a headless figure wearing a costume of
an early Javanese trooper to enrich the legend about the old town
of Kota Gede.

"We prefer to use illustrations because they are capable of
capturing people's wild imagination about the sites while telling
more of the sites' mythological aspects. That way the book will
encourage and provoke people to visit the sites," Agung said.

In the process of creating the book, more than 200 sites were
visited but only some 40 of them, which they found more
attractive and interesting, found their way into the book. "Some
of the remainder no longer exist, leaving nothing but abandoned
sign boards," Pascal said.