a year with you.: CANDI SEWU (or 'A Thousand Temples')

Afternoon sun sneaking in through the temple.

I am a sucker for any good temple story. I reckon that is why the ruins of Candi Sewu is so appealing to me. (Possibly also because it holds far less tourists than its neighbouring hindu temple Prambanan, where we are constantly put through this scenario: one cute kid comes up and ask shyly whether they can take a photo. And you go sort of 'of course you cutie!', a wee flattered. But then, as soon as you say yes they wave at their classmates that comes running, seemingly out of nowhere, and wants their picture taken too. Being a Hollywood celebrity must surely be exhausting! Getting a bit carried away here - Candi Sewu, it was.)

So the legend goes something like this: A princess that is put to marry a prince that has murdered her father (hence he got the throne) but she is for obvious reasons reluctant to the idea, so she claims that if he manages to build a thousand temples until the next morning she will agree to marry him. A thousand temples in one night, now that must surely be impossible for mankind. But the prince evokes demons from the underworld to commence the construction of these temples. They work rapidly and as temple 999 is completed the princess, who thought this was surely impossible, asks her people to start the day earlier, before the sun has revealed its presence. This troubles the roosters to crow and so the demons believe it to be morning and disappear under the earth again. The prince is furious and as a revenge he petrifies the princess, making her the finalizing one thousandth temple.

Upon arriving to the temple grounds I had to put this extra sarong around myself. Thought it a bit odd (like, what it is covering that my pants aren't already?) til I realized it was mandatory/Heidi and one of the temple 'guards'