Surabaya (formerly spelled as Soerabaja) is Indonesia's second-largest city, and the capital of the province of East Java. Itis also one of the biggest cities in Southeast Asia. It is located on the northern shore of eastern Java at the mouth of the
Mas River and at the side of the Madura Strait. It is known as the city of heroes, because of its role in the Indonesian War
of Independence. In 2007, the population of the city was approximately 3 million
ETMOLOGY
Surabaya is commonly said to derive its name from the words sura or suro (shark) and baya or boyo (crocodile), two creatures
which, in a local myth, fought each other in order to gain the title of "the stron
gest and most powerful animal" in the area
according to a Jayabaya prophecy. This prophecy tells of a fight between a giant white shark and a giant white crocodile. Now
the two animals are used as the city's logo, the two facing each other while circling the city's monument, the Heroes
Monument. This folk etymology, though embraced enthusiastically by city leaders, is somewhat dubious. Alternate derivations
proliferate: e.g. from the Javanese sura ing baya, meaning "bravely facing danger". Some people consider this Jayabaya
prophecy as a great war between Surabaya native people and invaders in 1945, while another story is about two heroes that
fought each other in order to be the king of the city. The two heroes were Sura and Baya.
HISTORY
The earliest record of Suyabaya was in a 1225 book written by Chau Ju-Kua, in which it was called Jungala, the ancient name
of Surabaya. By early 15th century, Admiral Zheng He's Treasure ship visited Sulumayi. Ma Huan who accompanied Zheng He wrote
in his 1433 book Ying-yai Sheng-lan : "after travelling south for more than twenty li, the ship riched Sulumayi, whose
foreign name is Surabaya. At the estuary, the outflowing water is fresh"
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Surabaya was a sultanate and a major political and military power in eastern Java.
It entered a conflict with, and was later captured by, the more powerful Sultanate of Mataram in 1625 under Sultan Agung. It
was one of Mataram's fiercest campaigns, in which they had to conquer Surabaya's allies, Sukadana and Madura and to lay siege
to the city before capturing it. With this conquest, Mataram then controlled almost the whole of Java, with the exception of
the Sultanate of Banten and the Dutch settlement of Batavia.
The expanding East Indies Companies took the city over from a weakened Mataram in November 1743. Surabaya became a major
trading center under the Dutch colonial government, and hosted the largest naval base in the colony.
In 1917 a revolt occurred amongst the soldiers and sailors of Surabaya, led by the Indies Social Democratic Association. The
revolt was firmly crushed and the insurgents given harsh sentences.
During World War II Surabaya was captured by the Japanese in 1942. It was bombed by the Allies in 1944. After that it was
seized by Indonesian nationalists. However, the young nation was soon put into conflict with the Allied-backed Dutch who
tried to retake their colony. The Battle of Surabaya was one of the most important battles of the Indonesian revolution. It
was started after British Brigadier General Mallaby was killed in October 30, 1945 near Jembatan Merah (the "Red Bridge").
The Allies gave an ultimatum to the Indonesian freedom fighters inside the city to surrender, but this was refused. The
ensuing battle took place on 10 November, nowadays celebrated as Heroes' Day (Hari Pahlawan). Because of prolonged
international pressure, the Dutch transferred sovereignty of Indonesia in December 1949.
in Southeast Asia. Today, Surabaya's population is around five million, and the surrounding metropolitan area houses at least
7 million. The areas surrounding Surabaya include Lamongan to the northwest, Gresik to the west, Bangkalan to the northeast,
Sidoarjo to the south, and Mojokerto and Jombang to the southwest.
Currently, the Indonesian government is building the Suramadu Bridge between Surabaya and the island of Madura; when
completed, it will be the longest bridge in the country. Madura is currently accessible by a ferry service that operates
regularly from Surabaya's port, Tanjung Perak (which literally means: "Silver Cape" in Indonesian).
BRI Tower, BII Tower, and Graha Pena are three of the highest towers in Surabaya.
Plaza Tunjungan, Galaxy Mall, Surabaya Plaza, Supermal Pakuwon Indah, and Royal Plaza Surabaya are the famous shopping
centres in Surabaya.
Surabaya is home to the Eastern Armada, one of two in the Indonesian Navy. Its strong maritime heritage is also reflected
with the Submarine Monument, a real retired Russian submarine, called Pasopati, that was converted into a museum ship in the
city centre.
Flooding is common in many areas of the city during the rainy season, mostly caused by clogged sewers and inept bureaucracy.
The fact that Surabaya is located in a river delta and has a flat and relatively low elevation doesn't help the matter
either.
Surabaya is the location of the only synagogue in Indonesia, although it is currently inactive.
Surabaya's zoo, opened in 1916, was the first in the world to have successfully bred orangutans in captivity.Other points of interest include:
Grand Mosque of Surabaya, the largest mosque in East Java. Cheng Ho Mosque, the first mosque in Indonesia built with a Chinese style architecture Jales Veva Jaya Mahe Monument, a large, admiral-like statue which commemorates the Indonesian Navy. Mpu Tantular Museum, has a large collection of ancient Javanese artifacts. Monkasel, abbreviated from Monumen Kapal Selam (English: Submarine Monument), an old submarine placed as a tourism attraction
inside which people can wander. Right beside the monument there is a building where a short movie about the history of the
submarine itself can be watched. Bonbin Surabaya is one of the famous zoos in Southeast Asia Heroic Monument is the main symbol and one of the attractive tourist destinations in Surabaya and Southeast Asia
Surabaya has 31 subdistricts. They are: Genteng, Bubutan, Tegalsari, Simokerto, Tambaksari, Gubeng, Krembangan, Semampir,
Pabean Cantikan, Wonokromo, Sawahan, Tandes, Karang Pilang, Wonocolo, Rungkut, Sukolilo, Kenjeran, Benowo, Lakarsantri,
Mulyorejo, Tenggilis Mejoyo, Gunung Anyar, Jambangan, Gayungan, Wiyung, Dukuh Pakis, Asem Rowo, Sukomanunggal, Bulak, Pakal
and Sambikerep.
Surabays consists of 163 villages
TRANSPORT
The city is served by Juanda International Airport. For trains, the city has several stations. They are Surabaya Kota (better
known as Semut) , Pasar Turi, and Gubeng. The main bus terminal is Purabaya (also known as Bungurasih, the area where it is
located).
Surabaya is also a transit city between Jakarta and Bali if using the ground transportations. Many tourists go through the
city of Surabaya to sight seeing before they come back to Jakarta or continue their journey to Bali. Another bus routes are
between Jakarta and Madura island which is nearest to Surabaya.
Tanjung Perak is the main port of the city and is one of the busiest ports in the country. Nowadays, it is also one of the
top ten busiest cargo harbors in Southeast Asia. Although the operational of the port is nearly traditional, it is also used
to carry modern cargo ships worldwide. The other port of the city is located in Gresik, the city which is located not far
from Surabaya. It is not more than an hour drive from Surabaya city centre to Gresik via highway. In the future, Gresik will
be the location for the new harbor and Tanjung Perak will be demolished and will be a recreation area for Surabaya.
Juanda International Airport is the second busiest airport in Indonesia in terms of transit passengers. Many passengers
transit through the airport. It is famous as a transit airport between West and East Indonesia. And it is also the focused
airport of many airlines. In the future, the international airport activities will be removed to the new airport somewhere at
Lamongan which will be operated internationally. But the domestic airport activities will remain at the old airport.
EconomyThe city is one of the busiest ports in the country. Its principal exports include sugar, tobacco and coffee. It has a large
shipyard, and numerous specialized naval schools. As the province capital, Surabaya is also home for many offices and
business centres.
DemographicsSurabaya is the second most populous city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. The city is highly urbanized, due to the many
industries located in the city, resulting in many slum areas. As the main education center, Surabaya has been the home for
many students from around Indonesia, thus they have created their own community. Also, Surabaya is the commercial center for
the eastern Indonesian region, hence many outsiders live in Surabaya.
EthnicityMost of its population are of Javanese descent. Madurese is largest minority, from nearby Madura Island and eastern part of
East Java. Notable minorities include Chinese Indonesians, Arab Indonesians and people originating from nearby islands.
LanguageMost citizens speak a unique dialect of Javanese called Suroboyoan. This dialect is noted for equality and directness in
speech. The usage of register is less strict than the Central Javan dialect. The Surabaya dialect is actively promoted in
local media, such as in local TV shows, radio and traditional dramas called Ludruk. The Madurese language influences the
Surabayan dialect of Javanese spoken in the streets.
Other religions include Hinduism, Konghucu, Buddhism, and ancient religions of jawa (Kejawen).
SportsSurabaya has a soccer team, Persebaya Surabaya. And the team home base is Gelora 10 November Stadium. Recently, the
government planned to build a new stadium for the team. And it will be done on early 2009. The new stadium name will be
Gelora Bung Tomo (GBT). It will be the second biggest stadium in Indonesia, after Gelora Bung Karno.
EducationSurabaya has several major universities and other institutions with religious or technical specialties. One of them is
Airlangga University (Unair), the oldest and largest public university in eastern Java, with eleven departments in a variety
of fields, including an especially well-regarded medical school and psychology department
The Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember is one of the country's most selective technology institutions, and is well-known for
its robotics, mechanical engineering, and marine engineering programs.
As one of the Indonesian military's major naval ports, Surabaya is the site of the national Naval Military Academy.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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