iSurprise Rumah Pesik

Gang Soka looks like just another small alley, but halfway awaits a surprise. Rumah Pesik is a true hidden gem. Perhaos Kotagde’s most stunning surviving Kalang style houses. The house with carved stone tableaus on mint green, white and grey walls and a unique two layered roof is the architectural essence of Kotagede.

In 2008 CEO of DHL Indonesia Rudih Pesikbought the dilapidated property and renovated it to bring back its former beauty. The original owners were influential Bahuwinangun family, rich merchants who also founded Yogya’s Islamic University. The Bahuwinanguns have left many traces in town. Worth a visit is their European style family graveyard Makam Bahoewinangoen, near the market Pasar Gede.

Part of the colourful wall is unexpectedly white. Behind the white wooden window screens is Langgar Dhuwur, the family prayer room. In the old days, all houses around the palace had one family prayer rooms, now there’s only two remaining in the whole city.

The bronze plaque on the wall reveals another secret: in May 2010, former president of Poland and Nobel prize winner Lech Walęsa stayed here. He was in Yoyga to meet the sultan and give a lecture at the local university and reputedly said: “I would have lived in Yogyakarta if my age would permit me, because of the beauty of Javanese women”.