West Java

West Java (Indonesian: Jawa Barat, abbreviated as "Jabar", Sundanese: Jawa Kulon) is a province of Indonesia. It is located in the western part of the island of Java and its capital and largest urban center is Bandung, although much of its population in the northwest corner of the province live in areas suburban to the even larger urban area of Jakarta, even though that city itself lies outside the administrative province. The province's population is 46.3 million (in 2014) and it is the most populous and most densely populated of Indonesia's provinces.

The central areas of Bogor, a city in West Java, has one of the highest population density worldwide, while Bekasi and Depok are respectively the 7th and 10th most populated suburbs in the world (Tangerang in adjacent Banten Province is the 9th); in 2014 Bekasi had 2,510,951 and Depok 1,869,681 inhabitants. All these cities are suburban to Jakarta.

History

The oldest human inhabitant archaeological findings in the region were unearthed in Anyer (the western coast of Java) with evidence of bronze and iron metallurgical culture dating to the first millennium AD. The prehistoric Buni culture (near present-day Bekasi) clay pottery were later developed with evidence found in Anyer to Cirebon. Artefacts (dated from 400 BC — AD 100), such as food and drink containers, were found mostly as burial gifts. There is also archaeological evidence in Batujaya Archaeological Site dating from the 2nd century and, according to Dr Tony Djubiantono, the head of Bandung Archaeology Agency, Jiwa Temple in Batujaya, Karawang, West Java was also built around this time.

Bogor

Bogor (Indonesian: Kota Bogor, Dutch: Buitenzorg) is a city on the island of Java in the West Java province of Indonesia. The city is located in the center of the Bogor Regency (Indonesian: Kabupaten Bogor), 60 kilometers (37 mi) south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta, although it is administratively independent from that regency. Bogor is the 6th largest city of Jabodetabek (the Jakarta metropolitan region) and the 14th nationwide, with a population having passed 1 million; it is an important economic, scientific, cultural and tourist center, as well as a mountain resort. In 2015, the new president (Joko Widodo) moved the seat of the president from Merdeka Palace to Bogor.

In the Middle Ages, the city was the capital of Sunda Kingdom (Indonesian: Kerajaan Sunda) and was called Pakuan Pajajaran. During the Dutch colonial era, it was named Buitenzorg (meaning "Without a care" in Dutch) and served as the summer residence of the Governor-General of Dutch East Indies.

With several hundred thousand people living on an area of about 20 km² (7.7 sq mi), the central part of Bogor is one of the world's most densely populated areas. The city has a presidential palace and a botanical garden (Indonesian: Kebun Raya Bogor) – one of the oldest and largest in the world. It bears the nickname "the Rain City" (Kota Hujan), because of frequent rain showers. It nearly always rains even during the dry season.

Java

Java (Indonesian: Jawa; Javanese: ꦗꦮ) is an island of Indonesia. With a population of over 141 million (the island itself) or 145 million (the administrative region) as of 2015 Census released in December 2015, Java is home to 56.7 percent of the Indonesian population, and is the most populous island on Earth. 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 1940s. Java dominates Indonesia politically, economically and culturally.

Formed mostly as the result of volcanic eruptions, Java is the 13th largest island in the world and the fifth largest in Indonesia. A chain of volcanic mountains forms an east–west spine along the island. Three main languages are spoken on the island, with Javanese being the dominant; it is the native language of about 60 million people in Indonesia, most of whom live on Java. Most residents are bilingual, with Indonesian as their first or second language. While the majority of the people of Java are Muslim, Java has a diverse mixture of religious beliefs, ethnicities, and cultures.

West

West is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of east and is perpendicular to north and south.

Etymology

The word "West" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance languages (ouest in French, oest in Catalan, ovest in Italian, oeste in Spanish and Portuguese). As is apparent in the Gothic term vasi (Visigoths), it stems from the same Indo-European root that gave the Sanskrit vas-ati (night) and vesper (evening) in Latin.

Navigation

To go west using a compass for navigation, one needs to set a bearing or azimuth of 270°.

West is the direction opposite that of the Earth's rotation on its axis, and is therefore the general direction towards which the Sun appears to constantly progress and eventually set.

Moving continuously west is following a circle of latitude.

Cultural

The phrase "the West" is often spoken in reference to the Western world, which includes Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, and the United States of America.