- published: 22 Feb 2015
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Cirebon (formerly referred to as Cheribon in English) is a port city on the north coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is located in the province of West Java near the provincial border with Central Java, approximately 297 km east of Jakarta, at 6°43′S 108°34′E / 6.717°S 108.567°E / -6.717; 108.567. The urban core of Cirebon is very small in extent, however, its dense suburbs sprawl into the regency.
The seat of a former Sultanate, the city's West and Central Java border location have seen its history influenced by both Sundanese and Javanese culture and also Chinese.
Being on the border of "Sunda" (i.e., West Java) and "Jawa" (i.e., Central Java), many of Cirebon's residents speak a dialect that is a mix of Sundanese and Javanese, and it is thought that the word "cirebon" derives from the Javanese word, caruban, meaning "mixed", a reference to the city's mix of Sundanese, Javanese, Chinese, and Arabic cultural elements. Alternatively, it could be derived from the Sundanese words of "Ci" (water or river) and "Rebon" ("shrimp"). (Indeed the main production of the city is fishery including shrimps.