Quake hits Indonesian Temples: Yogyakarta, Central Java

Damage to one of Indonesia’s most spectacular temple complexes caused by last year’s devastating Java earthquake was so extensive that repairs will take at least five years, UNESCO says. Some of the temples at Prambanan are threatening to topple and restoration of the entire Hindu compound, the largest in the country, will be slow and difficult, according to the UN culture agency.

“It’s not just putting back the stones, like a facelift,” said UNESCO’s Himalchuli Gurung, adding that repair work has not yet started as reported in the Antara News.

“There has been physical and structural damage, and there are a lot of internal cracks,” she told AFP.

One estimate has put the cost of rebuilding the UNESCO World Heritage site at 5.8 million dollars.

The extent of the damage has raised fears for the local economy as Indonesia marks one year since the May 27 quake, which destroyed villages and killed almost 6,000 on the main island of Java.

The ninth and 10th century temples — dedicated to the Hindu gods Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma — are located about 20 kilometres (10 miles) east of Yogyakarta, the main city in the quake zone.

Prambanan, like the nearby Borobudur temple compound which emerged unscathed, is one of the premier tourist attractions in Central Java, drawing 1.5 million visitors a year, according to the provincial tourism office.

Since the quake, an iron fence has been erected around the main group of temples and safety concerns mean visitors are barred from venturing inside.

“The problem is stones have been dislodged and some are hanging from the top. They could easily fall off,” said Sutopo, an official at Prambanan.

He said cracks as wide as five centimetres (two inches) in the main temple devoted to Shiva have been plugged with candle wax to stop water seeping in and corrupting the stones.

Locals selling souvenirs said business has dwindled since the quake and some tourists leave dejected.

“Of course they are disappointed, they have already paid an entrance fee but are unable to go inside,” said Eko Widianto, who has sold gifts here for about 20 years.

Titin Prihati, who sells cold drinks at the compound, said he was fearful about the future as sales have plummeted 60 percent.

“There were many more tourists coming before. The car parks were full, especially on public holidays. But now less tourists are coming and that means less income for me,” said Prihati.

Universal heritage

Repairs are expected to start later this year. Experts from UNESCO, the Indonesian government and other agencies have spent 12 months conducting extensive damage assessments, and devising an action plan.

Gurung said a big concern was the depth of cracks in the temples, which may have severely weakened their structure.

“When you look at the physical damage, falling stones, falling pinnacles, broken stones, we can place them back. But the serious part is the internal structural cracks, we don’t know how deep (they are),” she said.

“Some temples have inclined, they are tilting,” she added.

The Indian government is among those ready to help with restoration work, said T.S. Tirumurti, India’s deputy chief of mission in Indonesia.

Professor Ostelio Remi, director of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Jakarta, said “everything threatens to fall, from the base up to the top.”

“It is a universal heritage, among the most beautiful in the world. It has to be saved, whatever the cost,” added Remi, who has consulted with UNESCO on damage assessment.

Parego Andriano, holidaying with his wife from Milan, agreed, remarking that he was amazed at the beauty of the temples after walking around the compound’s enormous grounds.

“Prambanan’s temples are really great. It is too bad that this kind of world heritage has been left unrepaired so long,” he said.