Jalan Malioboro is the city's north-south axis through the city centre, and was originally conceived by the Sultan Hamengkubuwono I (late 18C) in a bid to link the kraton, the seat of power, to the Merapi Volcano, some 30km away. Its incessant traffic and queues of becak (rickshaws) and its multitude of boutiques, restaurants and craft shops constitute the beating heart of Yogyakarta. Not far from Fort Vredeburg, a former Dutch barracks, lies the covered and aromatic market of Pasar Beringharjo, where you can stroll amid the shimmering batiks.