"Kala Makara" Main Gate (Jakarta)

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The main gate consists of three big arches decorated with kala-makara with the Pancasila Flame Monument as the background, is situated at the Taman Mini main road, parallel with the Jakarta-Bogor-Ciawi (Jagorawi) toll road.
The kala-makara decoration is often found at the entrance of temples in Central Java. Kala has the form of a giant's open mouth without the lower jaw and is located at the upper part, while makara resembles a dragon's head and is located at the lower part. Kala-makara represents two powers in nature: kala as the upper power (the power of the sun) and makara as the lower power (the power of the earth). Kala can also mean time which is eternal while others will be destroyed.
The three arches of kala have the meaning that every person entering TMII will pass three time passages : the past, the present and the future. The past is pictured in the form of cultural and historical museums, the present in cultural-art performances and the dreams of the future in vehicles presenting the progress of science and technology.