NO SHORTS, MINI SKIRTS ALLOWED AT BOROBUDUR

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya

JAKARTA, Feb 2 (Bernama) -- Visitors to the ancient Borobudur temple, a
World Heritage Site, in Magelang, Central Java are forbidden from wearing shorts
and mini skirts as a mark of respect for the Buddhist monument.

The temple administrators have also banned visitors from wearing hard
sandals, high-heeled shoes and stilettoes.

"This is to protect the heritage and religious site as its surfaces need to
be maintained and protected from erosion.

"The stilettoes, for instance, are feared to cause scratches and erosion to
the slabs of stones at the temple," the vice general manager of the Borobudur
park, Suhartoto Endi Subiantoro, told Bernama Monday.

He said the temple administrators made the decision following calls from the
priests for the ninth century temple to be protected and respected.

The ruling will be implemented on a trial basis for three months for
visitors to get used to it.

Suhartoto said visitors, however, needed not be unduly worried as the temple
would provide those clad in shorts or mini skirts with a long piece of cloth or
sarong to cover themselves up.

For those wearing high-heeled shoes or stilettoes, they will be lent sandals
made of soft material to wear.

"After the trial period, we will consider whether the cloths, sarongs and
sandals can be lent for free or charged a small fee," said Suhartoto.

Local and foreign visitors to the temple had mixed reactions to the new
ruling on the first day of implementation as some felt it interfered with their
appearance while others did not mind it.

Suhartoto said the temple administrators also planned to ban the use of
umbrellas with metal heads as these could damage the temple stones if visitors
tapped the umbrellas on the stones when not in use as they walked along.

-- BERNAMA