|
Surabaya (formerly Soerabaja or Suroboyo) is
Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of
over 2.7 million (5.6 million in the metropolitan
area), and the capital of the province of East Java.
It is located on the northern shore of eastern Java
at the mouth of the Mas River and along the edge of
the Madura Strait.
To Indonesians, it is known as "the city of heroes"
due to the importance of the Battle of Surabaya in
galvanizing Indonesian and international support for
Indonesian independence during the Indonesian
National Revolution.
Etymology
Surabaya is locally believed 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
strongest 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, as depicted in a statue appropriately
located near the entrance to the city zoo. This folk
etymology, though embraced enthusiastically by city
leaders, is unverifiable.
Alternate derivations proliferate: from the Javanese
sura ing baya, meaning "bravely facing danger"; or
from the use of surya to refer to the sun. 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 Surabaya was in a 1225 book
written by Chau Ju-Kua, in which it was called
Jung-ya-lu, the ancient name of Surabaya. Ma Huan
documented the early fifteen-century visit of Zheng
He's Treasure ship in his 1433 book Ying-yai
Sheng-lan: "after traveling south for more than
twenty li, the ship reached 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.
Japan occupied the city in 1942 as part of the
occupation of Indonesia, and 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 British who were
care takers of the Dutch colony after the surrender
of the Japanese.
The Battle of Surabaya was one of the most important
battles of the Indonesian revolution. It was started
after British Brigadier Mallaby was killed on
October 30, 1945 near Jembatan Merah (the "Red
Bridge"), allegedly by a stray bullet. The Allies
gave an ultimatum to the Indonesian freedom fighters
inside the city to surrender, but this was refused.
The ensuing battle, which took thousands of lives,
took place on 10 November, and is nowadays
celebrated as Heroes' Day (Hari Pahlawan). The
incident of the red-white flag (the Dutch national
red-white-and-blue flag at the top of Yamato Hotel's
tower that was torn into the Indonesian red-white
flag) by Bung Tomo is also recorded as a heroic feat
during the struggle of this city.
The City
As the main seaport and commercial center in the
eastern region of Indonesia, Surabaya has become one
of the largest cities in Southeast Asia. Today,
Surabaya's population is around three million, and
the surrounding rural 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. Gresik,
Bangkalan, Mojokerto, Surabaya, Sidoarjo and
Lamongan as an area is called as Gerbang
Kertosusila.
On Wednesday, 10 June 2009 the Suramadu Bridge
between Surabaya and the island of Madura; was
completed and it is currently the longest bridge in
the country. Madura can also be accessed by a ferry
service that operates regularly from Surabaya's
port, Tanjung Perak (which literally means: "Silver
Cape" in Indonesian).
The Adhiwangsa, Taman Beverly, and Water Place
Residences are three of the tallest skyscrapers in
Surabaya.
Plaza Tunjungan, Galaxy Mall, Surabaya Plaza,
Supermal Pakuwon Indah, Surabaya Town Square, and
Royal Plaza Surabaya are the famous shopping center
while Hi-Tech Mall, WTC, and Plasa Marina are the
computers and mobile-phones shops center 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 center. 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, but it rarely obtains a minyan. There is
also a Jewish cemetery in the city.
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 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)
A Soviet-built submarine display (named KRI Pasopati
(410)), which proudly served in Indonesian Navy
since 1962. Launched in 1952 and since her
decommisioning in 1990, now preserved as a monument.
It is open as tourism attraction. The body/hull was
slightly cut for stairs & door for easier public
entrance & viewing. 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
House of Sampoerna is a cigarette museum, and also
one of the factory of Sampoerna brand cigarette. It
also provides a City Sightseeing bus for free
(Surabaya Heritage Track) which operates daily with
the particular schedule. It also provides an English
tour guide for the sightseeing.
|
