Wandering about Ngasem market seems like a must after visiting Yogyakarta Sultan Palace. In addition to its location that is only 400 meters west of the Palace, this market will give important information on what was considered prestige in the past. After horses functioning as means of transportation and kris as a weapon, birds comes the third position as social status measurement. Ngasem Market offers various kinds of birds with their beautiful appearance and voice and the activities of the bird lovers there.
Evidence in the form of a photograph shows that Ngasem market with birds as its main commodity has been operating since 1809. Its location that is not far from the Kingdom was meant for the noblemen to access it easily. In around 1960s, this market was increasingly identical to birds when birds sellers from Beringharjo were moved to this place. It is not surprising that many tourists call this market a bird market since the area for selling birds occupies one third of the market width.
The area for birds trading is on the left side of the entrance. The turtledove that many noblemen bought in the past is still one of the main commodities of this market. Other best sellers are bulbuls, orioles, starlings and minas, parakeet and small local birds such as emprit and prenjak. An interesting bird that people rarely buy is owl of which child is sold at 35,000 Rupiah. One of the bird shops had even recently sold an eagle at 350,000 Rupiah. Besides selling birds, the shops also provide care equipments such as cage and feeds.
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