The name Indonesia has its roots in two Greek words: "Indos" meaning Indian and "Nesos" which means islands. It is an appropriate description of the archipelago as there are estimated to be a total of 17,508 islands, of which only about 6,000 are inhabited, stretching for 5,150 km between the Australian and Asian continental mainlands and dividing the Pacific and Indian Oceans at the Equator.
Five main islands and 30 smaller archipelagoes are home to the majority of the population. The main islands are Sumatra (473,6O6 sq.km), Kalimantan 1539,400 sq.km), Sulawesi l 189,216 sq. km), Irian Jaya (421,981 sq. km), and last but not leastJava (132,187 sq.km), home to 70 percent of the country's population. Indonesia shares Irian Jaya with Papua New Guinea and two thirds of the island of Kalimantan with Malaysia and Borneo.
The Capital City
The nation's capital, Jakarta, has a fascinating and significant history. It started as a small harbour town called Sunda Kelapa, but its founding dates back to the year 157 when it was named Jayakarta by Fatahillah of the neighbouring Sultanate of Banten.
The name Jayakarta means City of Great Victory but this was later changed to Batavia under the Dutch. Now as Jakarta, the centre of government, business and industry, it spreads over an area of more than 650 sq.km 1410 sq miles) and has a population of over eight million people.
It is also designated as a special territory, (Daerah Khusus Ibukota - DKI), which means that is is administered by a governor and enjoys the same status of a province.
Denpasar
The capital city of Bali, Denpasar has many community temples called "Pura". One is the Museum called Pura Jagatnatha which is dedicated to the Supreme God. Sang Hyang Widi Wasa.
The statue of a turtle and two dragons (prevalent in all temples) signify the foundation of the world.The Museum offers a fine variety of prehistoric and modern art, whereas its architectural design resembles that of a palace. The government supervised "Sanggraha Kriya Hasta" has a wide variety of handicraft and works of art. The "Werdi Budaya" presents a yearly art festival between June and July, with performances, exhibitions, art contest and so on.
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