Yogyakarta ('Jogja') is the cultural capital of Java and the centre of classical Javanese civilisation, home to the living Kraton (sultan's palace), the royal Water Castle, and a thriving scene of wayang puppet theatre, batik cloth-making, and gamelan music. The city is the gateway to two of Asia's greatest monuments: Borobudur — the world's largest Buddhist temple, a 9th-century masterpiece of stone carvings and meditation bells — and Prambanan, an equally stunning 9th-century Hindu temple complex dedicated to the Trimurti. The active volcano Merapi looming over the city's northern edge adds an air of drama to everything.