West Java (Jawa Barat or Jabar) with a population of around 41.48 million (2007), is the most populous province of Indonesia, located on Java Island. It is slightly larger in area than densely populated Taiwan, but nearly double the population. Its capital city is Bandung.
Cirebon, the first big harbor east of Jakarta, is a modest trade city with about 225,000 inhabitants. Its name is often said to be derived from the Sundanese words of "Cai" (or river) and "Rebon" (or "shrimp"). The alternative Javanese derivation is from "Caruban", meaning "mixture", a reference to Cirebon's complex mix of Javanese, Malay, Sundanese, Chinese and Arabic cultural elements.
Aside from fishery, its harbor, Tanjung Emas, on the Java Sea has been a major hub for timber from Borneo. A small landing site Penggung also serves the TNI-AU. The city lies on Jalur Pantura (Pantai Utara Jawa), a major road on the northern coast of Java that stretches from Anyer, passes through Jakarta, and ends at Surabaya.
Cirebon was part of the Sunda kingdom as stated in the travel records of Prince Bujangga Manik, a Sundanese Hindu monk who visited all the holy Hindu sites in the islands of Java and Bali at the beginning of the 16th century AD. In his lontar manuscripts, which have been saved in the Bodleian Library of Oxford University in England since the 16th century, the borders of the Sunda kingdom in the west are the Sunda Straits and in the east are the Pamali River (present day Brebes River) and the Serayu River in Central Java Province.
The location of Cirebon is very strategic. In the Indojavanese time it was the most important harbor of the mighty Galuh kingdom, of which the capital was located in the fertile of the River Citanduy , not too far away from Ciamis. The harbor also opened the way to the River Cimanuk, which flows through Sumedang to the lake basin of Bandung. Because the coasts of Western Java are swampy and in some places rocky Cirebon and Sunda Kelapa (nowadays Jakarta), together with Banten in the far West, the main entries to the blooming highlands.
Nowadays Cirebon is on the crossing of a busy coastal road and the main road to Bandung. The harbor, main depot for the oil from the Java Sea, is famous for it's great catches of fish and other sea animals.
Location map of Cirebon
Last revised on December 05, 2009
Looking for e-tickets for flights in Indonesia? Here's your solution! Order your e-tickets at ticketindonesia.info.
BOOKMARK THIS PAGE
Add this page to your email, your own blog, MySpace, Facebook, or whatsoever via AddThis:
GIVE FEEDBACK
Additional information, updates or feedback? Send them in!
