:: East Java Travel Guide ::
East Java (Indonesian: Jawa
Timur) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the
eastern part of the island of Java and also includes
neighboring Madura and Bawean islands. The
administrative center of the province is located in
Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia and a
major industrial center and port.
Population
According to the
2000 census, East Java has 34 million inhabitants,
second only to West Java among Indonesian provinces. The
inhabitants consist of mostly Javanese. Native
minorities include migrants from nearby Madura, and
distinct Javanese ethnicities such as the Tengger people
in Bromo, the Samin and the Osing people in Banyuwangi.
East Java also hosts a significant population of other
ethnic groups, such as Chinese, Indians, and Arabs. In
addition to the national language, Indonesian, they also
speak Javanese. Javanese spoken in the western part of
East Java is indistinguishable from the one spoken in
nearby Central Java, with its hierarchy of high, medium,
and low speeches. But in the eastern cities of Surabaya,
Malang, and surrounding areas, the people speak a more
egalitarian version of Javanese, with much less regard
for hierarchy and a richer vocabulary for vulgarity.
While Madurese is spoken by around 1
5
millions of Madurese, concentrated in Madura Island,
Kangean Islands, Masalembu Islands, Eastern part of East
Java, and East Java main cities.
The major religion in East Java is Islam. This comes
from earlier history, when Islam spread from northern
cities in Java where many traders from Gujarat, India
visited, bringing Islam. The eastern part of East Java,
from Surabaya to Pasuruan, then following various cities
along the coast line, and turning back in Banyuwangi to
Jember, is well known as the "horseshoe area" in context
with earlier Muslim communities living there.
History
East
Java's history dating back from centuries, with its
famous ancient kingdom of Kediri and Singhasari which is
now a city, located near Malang. The Majapahit empire,
centered at Trowulan, Mojokerto East Java, is celebrated
by Indonesian as the golden age of the archipelago. The
Eastern Java region was the part of the Mataram kingdom
during its peak.
Education
East Java hosts some of the famous universities in
Indonesia, both owned by government and private. Three
major cities for universities, because they have
government's universities, are Surabaya, Malang, and
Jember. Among them, Airlangga University and Institut
Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember are the most famous, and both
are located in Surabaya. See: List of universities in
East Java
Another
important form of education that is available in most
cities in East Java is the pesantren. This kind of
education is built and organized by Islamic clerics, and
associated with local or national Muslim organizations.
Jombang is a famous city for its pesantren.
National parks
01. Meru
Betiri National Park - Between Jember and Banyuwangi
districts, this park covers 580 kmē (224 sq mi). Hard to
get to, it contains fantastic coastal rainforest and
scenery and is home to abundant wildlife.
02. Alas Purwo National Park - This 434 kmē (168
sq mi) park is formed by the Blambangan Peninsula (south
eastern Java). Comprised of mangrove, savanna, l
owland
monsoon forests and excellent beaches, the park's name
means First Forest in Javanese. Javanese legend says
that the earth first emerged from the ocean here.
03. Baluran National Park - This 250 kmē (97 sq
mi) national park is located in north east Java, once
known as Indonesia's little piece of Africa, the parks
formerly extensive savanna has been largely replaced by
Acacia.
04. Mount Bromo and Tengger caldera, Semeru
National Park, 7°56.355′S, 112°57.170′E(alt 2500 m);
located in East Java at the region of Probolinggo and
Pasuruan, 70 km (43 mi) from Surabaya the capital city
of East Java province. Mount Bromo is one of the great
hiking and trekking destinations for overseas tourists.
The breathtaking view of Bromo also attracts hundreds of
photo enthusiasts to see the views there.
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