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Beyond Beautiful Indies

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Beyond Beautiful Indies  Bambang I. Soemarwoto*, Natali R. Mustafa**, Rini S. Soemarwoto*** * ex-resident of Bogor Botanical Gardens.  **  Natural Products Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University. *** Department of Anthropology, Padjadjaran University, ex-resident of Bogor Botanical Gardens.   Leiden-Bandung, April 2016  Officially founded on May 18, 1817 by a German-born Dutch botanist Reinwardt, the botanical gardens in Bogor (formerly Buitenzorg) became an icon of mooi IndiĆ« (beautiful Indies) in the middle of the nineteenth century. It not only served as a walking area for the Governor-General, but also for the colonial elite as a place to adore the beauty of the landscape. It is described as an image of tropical sublime that has endured for almost 170 years until the present times that can be viewed by tourists, Indonesians and foreigners alike [1].  Today’s city plan of Bogor originated from a governor-general’s decree in 1745 to build a residence place outside Jakar