The Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia), is a country in Southeast Asia. Comprising 17,508 islands, it is the world's largest archipelagic state. With a population of 222 million people in 2006, it is the world's fourth most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority nation; however, no reference is made to Islam in the Indonesian constitution. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The name Indonesia derives from the Latin Indus, meaning "India", and the Greek nesos, meaning "island".The name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850, George Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians — and, his preference, Malayunesians — for the inhabitants of the "Indian Archipelago or Malayan Archipelago".From 1900, the name Indonesia became more common in academic circles outside the Netherlands, and Indonesian nationalist groups adopted it for political expression.

Jakarta (also DKI Jakarta), is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. It also has a greater population than any other city in Southeast Asia. It was formerly known as Sunda Kelapa (397-1527), Jayakarta (1527-1619), Batavia (1619-1942), and Djakarta (1942-1972). Located on the northwest coast of the Java Island, it has an area of 661.52 square kilometres (255.41 sq mi) and a population of 8,489,910[1]. Jakarta is the country's economic, culture and political center. Jakarta currently is the eleventh largest city in the world. Its metropolitan area is called Jabodetabek and contains more than 23 million people, and is part of an even larger Jakarta-Bandung megalopolis.

Jakarta is served by the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Tanjung Priok harbour. Since 2004, Jakarta, while under the governance of Sutiyoso, has built a new bus system known as "TransJakarta" or "Busway", and is now planning to expand the number of routes. The city had hoped to establish its newest transportation system, the Jakarta Monorail, in 2007.

Jakarta has many historial moments that influenced all aspects of everyday live of all citizen in Indonesia, because almost all political and business activities are centered in this capital city. Following are the historical events about Indonesia in Jakarta.

The Indonesian National Awakening is a term for the period in the first half of the twentieth century, during which people from many parts of the archipelago first began to develop a national consciousness as "Indonesians".

In the pursuit of profits and administrative control, the Dutch East Indies were imposed upon an array of peoples who had not previously shared a unified political identity. By the start of the twentieth century, the Dutch had formed the territorial boundaries of a colonial state that became the precursor to modern Indonesia. In the first half of the twentieth century, new organisations and leadership developed, in part facilitated by the Dutch Ethical Policy's creation of an educated Indonesian elite. These profound changes amongst the indigenous Indonesian population are often referred to as the 'Indonesian National Revival', and they culminated in Indonesian nationalists' proclaiming independence on 17 August 1945.

Imperial Japan occupied Indonesia during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of War in 1945. The period was one of the most critical in Indonesian history. The occupation was the first serious challenge to the Dutch in Indonesia—it ended the Dutch colonial rule—and, by its end, changes were so numerous and extraordinary that the subsequent watershed, the Indonesia Revolution, was possible in a manner unfeasible just three years earlier.[1] Under German occupation itself, the Netherlands had little ability to defend its colony against the Japanese army, and less than three months after the first attacks on Kalimantan the Japanese navy and army overran Dutch and allied forces, ending 300 years of Dutch colonial presence in Indonesia. In 1944–45, Allied troops largely by-passed Indonesia and did not fight their way into the most populous parts such as Java and Sumatra. As such, most of Indonesia was still under Japanese occupation at the time of their surrender in August 1945.

The Indonesian National Revolution or Indonesian War of Independence was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between Indonesia and the Netherlands, and an internal revolution. It took place between the time of Indonesia's declaration of independence in 1945 and the Netherlands' recognition of Indonesia's independence in 1949.

An era of Liberal Democracy (Indonesian: Demokrasi Liberal) in Indonesia began in 1950 following the securing of Indonesian independence in the Indonesian National Revolution, and ended with the imposition of martial law and President Sukarno's introduction of Guided Democracy in 1957. It saw a number of important events, including the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference, Indonesia's first general and Constitutional Assembly elections, and was an extended period of political instability, with no cabinet lasting as long as two years.

Guided Democracy (Indonesian: Demokrasi Terpimpin) was the political system in place in Indonesia from 1957 until the New Order began in 1966. It was the brainchild of President Sukarno, and was an attempt to bring about political stability. Instead, he sought a system based on the traditional village system of discussion and consensus, which occurred under the guidance of village elders. He proposed a threefold blend of nasionalisme ('nationalism'), agama ('religion'), and komunisme ('communism') into a co-operative 'Nas-A-Kom' government. This was intended to appease the three main factions in Indonesian politics — the army, Islamic groups, and the communists. With the support of the military, he proclaimed in February 1957,

Indonesia's transition to the "New Order" in the mid-1960s, ousted the country's first president, Sukarno after 22 years in the position. One of the most tumultuous periods in the country's modern history, it was the commencement of Suharto's 32-year presidency.

Described as the great dalang ("puppet master"), Sukarno's position depended on balancing the opposing and increasingly hostile forces of the army and Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). By 1965, the PKI extensively penetrated all levels of government and gained influence at the expense of the army.[1] The army itself had become divided between a PKI-allied left-wing, and a right-wing courted by Western countries.

On September 30, 1965 six of the military's most senior officers were executed in an attempted coup by the so-called 30 September Movement, a group from within the armed forces. Within a few hours, Major General Suharto, took control of the army and launched counteraction, and by the following day it was clear the poorly-coordinated coup had failed. Anti-communists, initially following the army's lead, went on a violent purge of communists, killing an estimated half million people and destroying the PKI, which was blamed for the coup.

The New Order (Indonesian: Orde Baru) is the term coined by former Indonesian President Suharto to characterize his regime as he came to power in 1966. Suharto used this term to contrast his rule with that of his predecessor, Sukarno (dubbed dismissively as the "Old Order," or Orde Lama). The term "New Order" in more recent times has become synonymous with the Suharto years (1966-1998).

Among much of the pro-democracy movement which forced Suharto to resign in the Indonesian 1998 Revolution and then gained power, the term "New Order" has come to be used pejoratively. It is frequently employed by them to describe figures who were either tied to the Suharto regime, or who upheld practices of his authoritarian regime, such as corruption, collusion and nepotism.

Since the fall of Suharto in 1998, Indonesia has been in a period of transition. This era has been called the period of "Reformasi" (Reform in Indonesian). This is due to a more open and liberal political and social environment in Indonesia after the Revolution of 1998 forced the resignation of the authoritarian President Suharto, ending the three decades of the New Order period.

The current period has been characterized by a careful political balance between long established sociopolitical norms and several emerging forces in Indonesian society. These balancing acts have produced compromises between those backing greater democracy and civilian rule and the interests of the still powerful military of Indonesia; between the growing force of Islamism and the desire to maintain secular government; between demands for greater regional autonomy and supporters of the older centralized state; and between the economic ideologies and policies of neoliberalism and the those of the welfare state.

Istana Negara and Istana Merdeka are palaces in the same complex on Merdeka Street in Central Jakarta, they have a total area of 68,000 m². Between them, on Medan Merdeka Street and Veteran Street, is another building used for state activities.

Sea World is a thrilling experience with its inhabitants-Dolphins and an immense number of marine lives from all over the world. Dolphin show is a popular attraction of this particular section which gathers tourists from all over and it can be equated with any of the modernized and high-ticket sea world.

TMII is a park that provides a complete picture of the grandeur of Indonesia in œbeautiful miniature presentation. It started with the idea and initiative of Ibu Tien Soeharto. The construction of TMII began in 1971 and it was official  inaugurated on April 20, 1975.

TMII as a vehicle presenting the diversity of the people of Indonesia and the variety of the cultural wealth enables the community to gain interesting experience, knowledge and information regarding various aspect of culture, tradition, customs, forms of art as far as the introduction of cultural objects.

MAP JAKARTA

TSUNAMI IN ACEH

On 26 December 2004, a 9.1-magnitude underwater earthquake caused a tremendous tsunami that devastated Aceh Province, Indonesia, resulting in the deaths of some 128,715 people (as of 18 April 2005). This tragedy evoked great concern internationally. Governments, multilateral organizations, international, national and local NGOs, religious organizations, ethnic organizations, professional organizations, educational institutions and others have rushed to provide aid to the people of Aceh.The death toll in Acheh, the region worst hit by last Sunday's tsunami, may exceed 400,000 as many affected areas could still not be reached for search and rescue operations, Indonesia's Ambassador to Malaysia Drs H. Rusdihardjo said Thursday.

He said the estimate was based on air surveillance by Indonesian authorities who found no signs of life in places like Meulaboh, Pulau Simeulue and Tapak Tuan while several islands off the west coast of Sumatera had "disappeared".He said the latest death toll of more than 40,000 in Aceh and northern Sumatera did not take into account the figures from the other areas, especially in the west of the region.

30 September Movement

On the night of September 30, 1965, six senior Indonesian army generals were murdered and the next morning, Indonesians woke up to find an organization calling itself the 'Thirtieth of September Movement' (Gerakan 30 September, or G30S) apparently in control. By the end of the day things seemed to be back to normal, in Jakarta at least. Meanwhile in central Java there was an attempt to take control over an army division and several cities. By the time this rebellion was put down, two more senior officers were dead. In the days and weeks that followed, the army blamed the coup attempt on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Soon a campaign of mass killing was underway (see Indonesian killings of 1965–66), which would result in the death of hundreds of thousands of people accused of aiding the 'PKI coup attempt'

.

Krakatoa

Krakatoa (Indonesian: Krakatau), also spelled Krakatao or Krakatowa, is a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. The name is used for the island group, the main island (also called Rakata), and the volcano as a whole. It has erupted repeatedly, massively, and with disastrous consequences throughout recorded history. The best known eruption culminated in a series of massive explosions on August 26 - 27, 1883, which was among the most violent volcanic events in modern times. With a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 6[2], it was equivalent to 200 megatons of TNT — about 13,000 times the yield of the Little Boy bomb (13 to 16 KT) that devastated Hiroshima, Japan.

The 1883 eruption ejected approximately 21 cubic kilometres of rock, ash, and pumice,[3] and generated the loudest sound historically reported: the cataclysmic explosion was distinctly heard as far away as Perth in Australia approx. 1,930 miles (3,110 km), and the island of Rodrigues near Mauritius approx. 3,000 miles (5,000 km) distant. Near Krakatoa, according to official records, 165 villages and towns were destroyed and 132 seriously damaged, at least 36,417 (official toll) people died, and many thousands were injured by the eruption, mostly from the tsunamis that followed the explosion.

The eruption destroyed two-thirds of the island of Krakatoa. Eruptions at the volcano since 1927 have built a new island in the same location, called Anak Krakatau (child of Krakatoa).[1]This island has a radius of roughly 2 kilometers and a high point around 200 meters above sea level. The original island of Krakatoa had a high point at an estimated 1800 meters above sea level and had a radius of 9 kilometers prior to ~416 AD.

Bandung Asia Afrrica Conference 1955

The first large-scale Asian-African or Afro-Asian Conference — also known as the Bandung Conference — was a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, organized by Egypt, Indonesia, Burma, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), the Philippines, India, Iraq, and Japan, which took place on April 18-April 24, 1955, in Bandung, Indonesia, and was coordinated by Ruslan Abdulgani, secretary general of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The conference's stated aims were to promote Afro-Asian economic and cultural cooperation and to oppose colonialism or neocolonialism by the United States, the Soviet Union, or any other "imperialistic" nation.

Twenty-nine countries representing over half the world's population sent delegates. The conference reflected what they regarded as a reluctance by the Western powers to consult with them on decisions affecting Asia in a setting of Cold War tensions; their concern over tension between the People's Republic of China and the United States; their desire to lay firmer foundations for China's peace relations with themselves and the West; their opposition to colonialism, especially French influence in North Africa and French colonial rule in Algeria; and Indonesia's desire to promote its case in the dispute with the Netherlands over western New Guinea (Irian Barat).

Dangdut

Dangdut is a genre of Indonesian popular music that is partly derived from Arabic, Indian, and Malay folk music. It developed in the 1970s among working class Muslim youth, but especially since the late 1990s has reached a broader following in Indonesia.

A dangdut band usually consists of a lead singer backed by four to eight musicians. The term has been expanded from the desert-style music, to embrace other musical styles. Modern dangdut incorporates influences from Latin, house music, hip-hop, R&B, reggae and even Western classical music.

Keroncong

Listen

Sundanese Song

Listen

The province of Sunda in West Java experienced an amazing resurgence of interest in its own musical traditions in the late 1970s and into the 1980s. Centered on the city of Bandung, this renewed vitality led to the nation-wide (and world-wide) popularity of traditional genres like Kacapi Suling and modern ones like jaipongan.

Kacapi Suling is usually played at interludes between songs in a performance of the classical song-form Tembang Sunda. The term refers to the two plucked string instruments and the flute. There is a higher-pitched kacapi rincik, a lower-pitched kacapi indung and the suling ornamenting the melody. During a dinner-to-dawn house concert of Tembang Sunda, instrumental pieces like these would offer light interludes between the weightiness of the songs. The pieces are in two scales. The first four are in laras pelog, conveying a lighter mood, while the next four are in laras sorog, a more somber mood. This change of key usually occurs around midnight, and lasts until dawn.

Minang Song

Listen

The Minangkabau language (autonym: Baso Minang(kabau); Indonesian: Bahasa Minangkabau) is an Austronesian language, spoken by the Minangkabau-people of West Sumatra, in the western part of Riau and in several cities throughout Indonesia by migrated Minangkabau, who often trade or have a restaurant. It is also spoken in a part of Malaysia.

Due to great grammatical similarities between the Minangkabau language and Malay, there is some controversy regarding the relationship between the two. Some see Minangkabau as a dialect of Malay, while others think of Minangkabau as a proper (Malay) language.

Bataks Song

Listen

Qasidah

Listen

Balinese Dance

Watch

Javanese Dance

Watch