Wednesday, December 26, 2012

This is Indonesia

Taman Mini Indonesia Indah
Indonesia is the fourth largest country in the world is home to more than 200 million people. Mainly Muslims — with substantial Christian, Hindu and Buddhist minorities. Indigenous tribes still exist in Borneo to Papua in Eastern Indonesia. The presence of their pagan ancestry can still be seen, heard and felt by those who dare to breach the tourist frontiers.
While much of Indonesia's allure lies in its rich cultural tapestry and untamed wilderness, its cities and resorts are also famed for world-class visitor facilities. Divers are a fast growing breed of special visitors to Indonesia's many shores.
Indonesia is situated between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, between the continents of Asia and Australia. Its total land area is 1,905,443 square kilometers with over 80,000 kilometers of coastline.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when
Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.
Across its many islands, Indonesia consists of hundreds of distinct native
ethnic and linguistic groups. The largest—and politically dominant—ethnic group are the Javanese. A shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a majority Muslim population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" ("Unity in Diversity" literally, "many, yet one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world's second highest level of biodiversity. The country has abundant natural resources, yet poverty remains widespread

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Five Largest island in Indonesia

Image by cindycomputer
Sumatra (Indonesian: Sumatera) is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two larger islands, Borneo and New Guinea, are shared between Indonesia and other countries) and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538. Its biggest city is Medan with a population of 2,109,330.
Sumatra forms an elongated landmass spanned diagonal northwest — southeast axis. The Indian Ocean borders the west, northwest and southwest sides of Sumatra with the island chain of Simeulue, Nias and Mentawai bordering along the southwestern coast. On the northeast side the narrow Strait of Malacca separates the island from the Malay Peninsula, an extension of Eurasian continent. On the southeast the narrow Sunda Strait separates Sumatra from Java. The northern tip of Sumatra borders the Andaman islands, while on the lower eastern side are the islands of Bangka and Belitung, Karimata Strait and the Java Sea. The Bukit Barisan mountains, which contain several active volcanoes, form the backbone of the island, while the northeast sides are outlying lowlands with swamps, mangrove and complex river systems. The equator crosses the island at its center on West Sumatra and Riau provinces. The climate of the island is tropical, hot and humid with lush tropical rain forest originally dominating the landscape. 87% of Sumatrans are thought to be Muslim. The island is home to 22% of Indonesia's population

Java (Indonesian: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million (excluding the 3.6 million on the island of Madura which is administered as part of the provinces of Java), Java is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely-populated places on the globe. Java is the home of 60 percent of the Indonesian population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is located on western Java. Much of Indonesian history took place on Java. It was the center of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Java was also the center of the Indonesian struggle for independence during the 1930s and 40s. Java dominates Indonesia politically, economically and culturally.

Kalimantan, In English, the term Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, while in Indonesian, the term "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. The Indonesian territory makes up 73% of the island by area, and 69.5% (13,772,543 at the 2010 Census of Indonesia) by population. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are of Brunei (400,000) and East Malaysia (5,625,000), the latter comprising the states of Sabah and Sarawak. The region within Indonesia is also known as Indonesian Borneo. Kalimantan's total area is 544,150 square kilometres (210,097 sq mi)

Sulawesi (formerly known as Celebes is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and the world's eleventh-largest island. It is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.
Sulawesi has a distinctive shape, dominated by four large narrow peninsulas: the north Semenanjung Minahassa; the East Peninsula; the South Peninsula; and the South-east Peninsula. Three gulfs separate these peninsulas: Gulf of Tomini between northern Minahassa peninsula and East Peninsula; Tolo Gulf between East and Southeast Peninsula; and Bone Gulf between while South and Southeast Peninsula. The Strait of Makassar runs along the western side of the island and separates the island from Borneo.

Papua Island (63°7′S 55°57′ WCoordinates: 63°7′S 55°57′W) is a small circular island lying 4 nautical miles (7 km) west of Boreal Point, off the north coast of Joinville Island. The name was applied by the Argentine Antarctic Expedition (1953–54) because large numbers of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) were sighted on this island.