Portal:Indonesia/AOTW/16, 2007

Surabaya (formerly Soerabaja) is Indonesia's second-largest city, 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 at the side of the Madura Strait. The 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.

In the fifteenth and sixteenth century, Surabaya was a sultanate and a major political and military power in eastern Java. 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. During the Indonesian National Revolution Indonesian republicans fought to defend the city against Allied troops in 1945 during the Battle of Surabaya; although the republicans were defeated, the battle galvanised both Indonesian and international support for the independence cause.

As the main seaport and commercial center for 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 metropolitan area houses at least 5 million. Surabaya is the location of the only synagogue in Indonesia, although it is currently inactive.(Read more...)