Gelgel, Indonesia
Gelgel is a village (desa) in the regency (kabupaten) of Klungkung, on Bali, Indonesia. The village, near the coast four kilometers south of the regency capital Semarapura, contains a number of structures of cultural interest, and is known for its pottery and handwoven ceremonial songket cloth. The height of the village's power came during the kingdom of Gelgel, which dominated Bali from around the early 16th century to 1686. There are no traces left today of the old royal palace (puri). The old ancestral shrine of the ruling dynasti, Pura Jero Agung, is still standing in the old palace area. To the east of Pura Jero Agung is another old temple, Pura Dasar, which is a lowland counterpart of the "mother temple" of Bali, Pura Besakih. The village also contains the oldest mosque in Bali, which was built by Javanese retainers of the old kings. Early history The history of Gelgel is described in detail in the traditional chronicles (babad), in particular the 18th-century work Babad Dalem. According to these texts, the conquest of Bali by the Hindu Javanese kingdom of Majapahit was followed by the installation of a vassal dynasty in Samprangan in the present-day regency Gianyar, close to