Despite Indonesia having more Muslims than any other nation in the world, making up 87% of its total population, the government’s pseudo-religious tolerance¹ is seen within several religious buildings, all standing within a few city blocks of Indonesia’s central seat of power and the highest court in the land.

With over 200 million Muslims in a country whose “religious freedom” is mere decades old it is not difficult to see the significance of these Muslim, Hindu, and Christian influenced buildings.

What you don’t expect to see in the heart of Indonesia is a 100 year old Catholic cathedral. Yet, there it is.

The Central Catholic Cathedral (Gereja Katedral) is the seat of the Archbishop of Jakarta. The current building is a rebuild of the original that was burnt down in the mid-1800s. On Christmas Eve, 2004, the church was the target of a blast bomb attack.

What you do expect to see in a highly populated Muslim country is a mosque. Just a 150 meters from the great doors of the Cathedral are the great halls of the largest mosque in Southeast Asia.

What is significant about The Independence Mosque (Istiqlal Mosque), besides its size, is that its designer was not a Muslim at all. In fact, he was a Christian architect that won the job as part of a contest held by the government in the 1960s. The mosque would take 17 years to build.

Just one block away from The Independence, the same Christian architect, Frederich Silaban, designed another one of Jakarta’s treasured monuments, the National Monument (Monumen Nasional or MONAS); this time taking his influences primarily from the Hindu religion.

Taking 14 years to build, the National Monment is a 137m tall tower that supposedly symbolises the fight for Indonesia’s independence. Visitors generally stand for hours in long lines while they wait to ride up the old, rickety 11-passenger elevator up the deliberately phallic-looking shaft to the central viewing platform. The design of the monument supposedly “combines elements of the male and female physiology”, symbolising fertility in the Hindu-Javanese tradition.

All three of these religiously influenced buildings demonstrate, to a certain extent, Indonesia’s religious tolerance. For if we just cross the street from the National Monument, we will come upon the Presidential Palace (Istana Merdeka) and the Supreme Court of Justice (Mahkama Agung); arguably the nation’s most important political buildings.

The Presidential Palace / The Supreme Court of Justice

From the viewing platform of the National Monument tourists can photograph all of the buildings discussed here within a single panoramic frame. The President’s home, the Supreme Court, the largest mosque in SE Asia, and the central Catholic cathedral all from an Hindu-influenced monument. An impressive vista for sure.

Thanks to Perry Ismangil.

Standing prominent above Old Istanbul and its waterfront, Topkapi Palace is an immense¹ structure with a long and regal history - from its role as the centre of the Ottoman Empire, to its current operation as a museum housing sacred Muslim relics.

Initially constructed in the mid-15th century and expanded in subsequent centuries by different rulers, the palace is centred on four principal courtyards which are divided by high walls intended to ensure the privacy of those inside. The courtyards are surrounded by hundreds of buildings, beyond which are gardens and wooded areas and walls separating it from the bustling city.

At the height of their power, the Ottoman Sultans based all their official, political and ceremonial activities at the Palace. They housed up to 4,000 people in the complex, which was a self-contained city with all necessary facilities such as mosques, schools, a hospital and even a mint. The palace is reached via a processional avenue and the huge Imperial Gate adjacent to the Hagia Sofia mosque.

The first courtyard is the southernmost and largest of the four, and served mainly as parkland for the general population of the Palace and as a functional area for facilities like the mint. It also houses the Hagia Irene Orthodox Church. The fountain here is believed to have been used by executioners to clean their hands and weapons after an execution.

The parade route through this area leads directly to the Salutation Gate, entrance to the second courtyard. Visitors had to dismount their horses here, as only Sultans were permitted to proceed while riding.

The second courtyard was where Sultans would receive most guests and hold public audiences. It contained more lavish parkland for senior members of the court, and was surrounded by important buildings such as the Imperial Council, a harem, dormitories for servants, and stables where royal carriages are still present.

The ten domed kitchen buildings are clearly visible with their chimneys standing proud above spaces where up to a thousand people would work to create up to 6,000 meals a day in specialised facilities such as the confectionery and beverage kitchens.

The Tower of Justice is the high point of the complex - intended to serve as a reminder for all who could see it of the power of the Sultan, who would use it as a place to oversee his city. Nearby is the Treasury which housed most public administrative functions of the city.

The Gate of Felicity leads to the lush third courtyard which was the private quarters of the Sultan - a place where nobody could enter without his express permission. Private audiences (such as with visiting ambassadors) took place in the throne room just inside the gate. Personal guards and staff of the Sultans lived in this area. The Conquerors Pavilion and Imperial Treasury mostly housed art, money and other valued possessions. The Mosque of the Agas is the largest mosque in the Palace.

The Privy Chamber was constructed as offices, but now houses several items considered to be the most sacred Muslim relics - a cloak and weapons which belonged to the Prophet Muhammed, along with one of his teeth and a hair from his beard. These items form a destination of pilgrimage for many people.

The third courtyard also leads to the harem which had more than 400 rooms to house the sultan’s families in addition to their wives and concubines.

The fourth courtyard was strictly a private refuge for Sultans and their families, along with principal staff such as the Chief Physician. It includes sections specifically for rituals such as evening meals during Ramadan, and circumcision.

By the late 17th century, the Sultans had mostly relocated to more modern palaces elsewhere in the city. Sections of the Topkapi were lost to redevelopment, particularly along the waterfront where a railway was built in the 19th century. When the Ottoman Empire ended early in the 20th century, the Turkish government ordered its conversion into a museum.

While only a modest selection of the hundreds of rooms are open to the public, the architecture is splendid and there is a rich collection of Ottoman treasures, manuscripts and other objects in addition to the Muslim relics mentioned above.

A full in-depth description of Topkapi Palace can be found at Wikipedia. It can be helpful to compare the satellite images to the maps of the Palace, and the Harem. Finally, virtual tours at 360tr (tour one, tour two) give an excellent sense of the grandeur of the Palace.

Thanks to Ray hollis and Sench.

As we’re sure you’ll have heard by now, Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, has died in Los Angeles.

We first posted Neverland Ranch to the site back in April 2005, but at the time Jackson was in the news for very different reasons.

This is the theme park at Neverland – a property which Jackson built here in 1988 at a cost of $17 million. Neverland Ranch was Jackson’s permanent residency from 1988 until 2005, when the main house was eventually closed as a cost-cutting measure in the wake of the star’s declining fortunes.

Despite having been out of the property since 2005, it wasn’t until November 2008 that Jackson finally transferred the title deed to the Sycamore Valley Ranch Company, and in April 2009 a widely reported exhibition of Neverland’s contents opened in advance of all the items going to auction.

In truth however, the Sycamore Valley Ranch Company is a venture that Jackson himself set up¹ – and the auction was actually cancelled at the last minute. Meaning that at the time of his death, Michael Jackson still owned at least some proportion of Neverland Ranch itself, as well as all of its contents.

So maybe this isn’t the last we’ll see of Neverland – perhaps one day it will be reborn to become the Graceland of the pop-era.

Goodbye MJ, thank you for the music.

Welcome to the second annual GSS Desert Week! In time-honoured tradition, we’ll mostly be posting about deserts. For about a week!

While Canada is generally thought of as a land of ice and snow, it is home to one arid desert - the Osoyoos or Nk’Mip Desert of British Columbia.¹

Surrounding the community of Osoyoos, and the lake of the same name, this area of the Okanagan is home to desert plants and animals not found anywhere else in the country. It is one of the hottest and driest parts of Canada year-round, and some believe that Osoyoos Lake is the warmest in the world (though there are several competing claims for that title.)

The desert is characterised by barren hillsides and plains, bordered by lush green fields and orchards which survive with heavy irrigation.

For a small desert, it is surprisingly well endowed with visitor centres. The Osoyoos Desert Society has its Centre to the north-west of town, while the Nk’Mip Indian Band’s Desert Cultural Centre is “an architectural marvel sensitively constructed into a hillside” on the other side of the lake. At both, you can learn about the local flora and fauna through static displays and a network of trails

The Nk’Mip Band have also managed to carve a golf course out of the desert, with an associated resort and spa, while nearby is an estate of vineyards producing some of the wines for which the Okanagan is renowned.

Some distance out of town, the desert even has a salt lake, called - not surprisingly - Spotted Lake. The spots appear when water evaporates, leaving rich mineral deposits behind.

Panoramio has a good selection of pictures of Canada’s Desert.

Welcome to the second annual GSS Desert Week! In time-honoured tradition, we’ll mostly be posting about deserts. For about a week!

The Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, is renowned across the US for exhibits like the largest cat complex in North America, the world’s largest nocturnal exhibit and indoor swamp, and the world’s largest indoor rainforest.

The reason we’re here today however, is that under the world’s largest glazed geodesic dome we find the world’s largest indoor desert, which is home to plants and animals from the Namib Desert, the Australian Outback, and the Sonoran Desert.

The dome has two interior levels covering 7,800 sq m (84,000 sq ft), and rises nearly 42 m (137 ft) above ground. True to the form of the best geodesic domes, there are no internal supports, with the structure’s 1,760 triangles providing all the strength it needs to remain standing.

Dubious claims to fame aside, the zoo does fantastic work in animal conservation and research, and was voted Best Zoo in America 2004 by Reader’s Digest.

Thanks to Juicio.

There’s more information at the Henry Doorly Zoo Official site and Wikipedia page.