Surabaya - City of Indonesia

Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city, and the capital of the province of East Java. It is located on the northern shore of eastern Java at the mouth of the Mas River and along the edge of the Madura Strait.

To Indonesians, it is known as "the city of heroes", due to the importance of the Battle of Surabaya in galvanising Indonesian and international support for Indonesian independence during the Indonesian National Revolution.

The earliest record of Suyabaya was in a 1225 book written by Chau Ju-Kua, in which it was called Jungala, the ancient name of Surabaya. By early 15th century, Admiral Zheng He's Treasure ship visited Sulumayi. Ma Huan who accompanied Zheng He wrote in his 1433 book Ying-yai Sheng-lan : "after travelling south for more than twenty li, the ship reached Sulumayi, whose foreign name is Surabaya. At the estuary, the outflowing water is fresh".

In 1917 a revolt occurred amongst the soldiers and sailors of Surabaya, led by the Indies Social Democratic Association. The revolt was firmly crushed and the insurgents given harsh sentences.

During World War II Surabaya was captured by the Japanese in 1942. It was bombed by the Allies in 1944. After that it was seized by Indonesian nationalists. However, the young nation was soon put into conflict with the Allied-backed Dutch who tried to retake their colony. The Battle of Surabaya was one of the most important battles of the Indonesian revolution. It was started after British Brigadier General Mallaby was killed in October 30, 1945 near Jembatan Merah , allegedly by a stray bullet.

The Allies gave an ultimatum to the Indonesian freedom fighters inside the city to surrender, but this was refused. The ensuing battle, which took thousands of lives, took place on 10 November, and is nowadays celebrated as Heroes' Day .The incident of the red-white flag by Bung Tomo is also recorded as a heroic feat during the struggle of this city.

Most citizens speak a unique dialect of Javanese called Suroboyoan. This dialect is noted for equality and directness in speech. The usage of register is less strict than the Central Javan dialect. The Surabaya dialect is actively promoted in local media, such as in local TV shows, radio and traditional dramas called Ludruk. The Madurese language influences the Surabayan dialect of Javanese spoken in the streets.

Islam and Christianity are the main religions in Surabaya. The city is the home of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Surabaya. Other religions include Hinduism, Konghucu, Buddhism, Judaism, and ancient religions of jawa.

The Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember is one of the country's most selective technology institutions, and is well-known for its robotics, mechanical engineering, and marine engineering programs.

Surabaya has several major universities and other institutions with religious or technical specialties. One of them is Airlangga University, the oldest and largest public university in eastern Java, with eleven departments in a variety of fields, including an especially well-regarded medical school and psychology department.