Middle Terrace

Candi Ceto
Surakarta (Solo)
Java, Indonesia

The middle terrace, with its symbolic pavement inlays (see next pages), is undoubtedly Majapahit. The view looks west, down into the valley. The right-side pavilion, reconstructed from its foundations in modern times, might have been used for food preparation, gamelan concerts, or other uses that cannot be determined on the present evidence. In the lower center of the photo, a tortoise-shaped stepping-stone defines the landing of a staircase that leads up to the upper terrace. The following pages show a few close-ups of the central pavement; its overall decoration, that is an arrow-shaped phallus poking out of a female triangle, in front of a tortoise-shaped circular platform, is best seen from the perspective of this photo.