Borobudur in central Java, Indonesia

© Oleh Slobodeniuk/Getty Image

A giant relic in Java

This photo shows the quiet, mist-shrouded wilderness surrounding the Buddhist temple known as Borobudur. The site is among the most-visited attractions on the island of Java, with devout practitioners making pilgrimages to the holy site and curious tourists coming to see the grandeur of the structure. With 504 Buddha statues and 2,672 sculpted relief panels, Borobudur is the world's largest Buddhist temple. It was likely constructed in the 9th century and abandoned in the 14th as much of the Indonesian population converted from Buddhism and Hinduism to Islam.

Over time it became engulfed by the jungle, and only locals knew of its existence. When word of the temple spread in the early 1800s, a Dutch engineer and 200 workers cut down trees, burned vegetation, and dug away the earth to reveal the monument. Borobudur was eventually restored and given preservation status under UNESCO guidelines.

On August 17, this nation of islands at the crossroads of the Indian and Pacific Oceans will be celebrating its independence day. The Indonesian archipelago had been under Dutch control for centuries when, amid geopolitical changes following the end of World War II, Indonesian nationalist leaders proclaimed independence on August 17, 1945. After a bitter four-year struggle, the Netherlands formally recognized Indonesia as an independent nation in December 1949.