A legacy of the Dutch administration, a train carries us from Yogyakarta to the neibouring town of Solo, a little further east. Together with Yogya, Solo (officially known as Surakarta although nobody uses that name) is one of Java's "royal cities". Indeed, for centuries this part of the world has been ruled by small kingdoms that have come and gone. Mataram, Sriwijaya, Majapahit, Mataram Islam...empires that flourished for a time before disappearing into nothingness. By the time the Dutch turned up on Java around the 18th Century, the Mataram Islam kingdom governed most of Java. As ever in this island's history though, the kingdom was beset by internecine squabbles and arguments over succession, and soon even this kingdom split into two small principalities headed by separate royal families - Yogyakarata and Solo. The Dutch were quick
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