A small village, but home to a well-preserved temple. I had a good opportunity to visit "Merak Temple." A beautiful temple with simplicity. It's not large, but it holds mysteries and interesting stories.
You may have seen my posts recently about Klaten City. I currently get most of my driving jobs in this city. It's great for me, at least, because I can explore many places I previously overlooked.
The process of sharing on Hive has made me more active in discovering interesting tourist attractions. Historical sites are one of them. I can also recommend my driving services to people who want to use my services.
Karangnongko Village is a small village in Klaten City. It borders Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta is a popular city for historical tourism. A short trip to Klaten City is worth considering for those of us who enjoy historical sites.
In my opinion, Merak Temple in Klaten City is not as large and magnificent as the other temples in Klaten City. It must still be valued as a national heritage and enjoyed as a historical beauty. It must not be forgotten.
The village is small, but accessible by car to the roadside area where "Merak Temple" is located. In front of the temple is a simple fence with a sign denoting the protected cultural heritage of "Merak Temple."
My visit was a weekday, not a weekend. It was quiet. There was a male temple guard. He was sweeping the area when I arrived, so I asked the guard about the "Merak Temple" area.
"Merak Temple" is tall and not wide. Around it are neatly arranged ornamental plants. I didn't see any trash during my visit. This was much appreciated.
There is a walking path to the main temple area, which is immaculately clean. From the front road, the temple area features a niche with a single statue. The side without stairs is visible.
The side without stairs contains a niche containing a Ganesha statue, still intact. The statue's distinctive feature is its nose, which resembles an elephant's trunk.
On one side of the "Merak Temple" there is also a niche containing a statue. It is said to be the statue of Durga, or the Goddess Durga from Hindu mythology.
Unfortunately, this Durga statue has no head. The source I read suggests the head was likely stolen. It's truly a shame that such a rich historical resource can be lost.
On the other side, there is a niche, but it's empty, devoid of any statues.
On the other side, there are stairs leading to the inner area of the "Merak Temple." On both sides of the steps are decorated with mythological creatures, supposedly meant to protect against evil spirits. They resemble dragons.
I was allowed to enter the inner area of the temple after I asked the guard. I cautiously entered the temple area. It was safe. It didn't wobble at all. I firmly placed my foot on the temple.
The inner area of the temple at the very end was very dark. I couldn't see anything. But near the entrance, there's a window-like opening that lets in light, so it doesn't feel stuffy and air still flows in. Frankly, it feels damp.
Actually, "Merak Temple" didn't look like this in the past. It took quite a long time to restore it to its current form. As I read in a source about "Merak Temple."
Then I asked the caretaker about the temple's name. It turns out it was named "Merak Temple" because there used to be a large banyan tree that became a nest for peacocks. The temple was discovered after the tree fell. Then, restorations were carried out, resulting in the "Merak Temple" as we see it today. The name "Merak Temple" comes from the name of the bird seen when the temple was discovered.
"Merak Temple" is beautiful and worth a visit, especially for history lovers. Thank you for following my journey.
Thank you for reading my blog. Greetings from Indonesia.
All photos I took using my phone camera.