Borobudur at Dawn

A bird soars in the dawn mist over the Buddhist temple complex at Borobudur on the island of Java, Indonesia. Finished in around 830 AD by the Sailendra dynasty, who ruled the Mataram kingdom in central Java, the temple contains nine stacked platforms (six square and three circular) topped by a central dome - with distinctive perforated stupas visible from afar. Abandoned in the 1400s, Borobudur lay hidden for centuries under volcanic ash and jungle growth until rediscovery by Raffles in 1814.