all about Jakarta City

DKI JAKARTA

Jakarta, I mean 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 Java, it has an area of 661.52 square kilometres and a population of more 8,489,910. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political center. Jakarta is the twelfth-largest city in the world; the metropolitan area, called Jabodetabek, is the sixth-largest in the world.

Major landmarks in Jakarta include Indonesia Stock Exchange, the Bank of Indonesia, and the National Monument (Tugu Monas). The city is the seat of the ASEAN Secretariat. Jakarta is served by the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport, and Tanjung Priok harbour; it is connected by several intercity and commuter railways, and served by several bus lines running on reserved busways.

Administration

Officially, Jakarta is not a city, but rather a province with special status as the capital of Indonesia. It is administered much like any other Indonesian province. For example: Jakarta has a governor (instead of a mayor), and is divided into several sub-regions with their own administrative systems. Jakarta, as a province, is divided into five cities (kota), formerly municipalities, each headed by a mayor, and one regency (kabupaten) headed by a regent. In August 2007, Jakarta held its first ever election to pick a governor; the election was won by Fauzi Bowo. The city's governors have previously been appointed by local parliament. The poll is part of a country-wide decentralization drive, allowing for direct local elections in several areas.

List of cities of Jakarta:

• Central Jakarta (Jakarta Pusat: Pop. 889,448) is the most densely populated district and home to most of the city's skyscrapers. The district is the central government office, Bank Indonesia, the big mosque of Istiqlal, the big shopping center of Grand Indonesia and numerous museums.
• East Jakarta (Jakarta Timur: Pop. 2,391,166)
• North Jakarta (Jakarta Utara: Pop. 1,445,623 )
• South Jakarta (Jakarta Selatan: Pop. 2,001,353 )
• West Jakarta (Jakarta Barat: Pop. 2,093,013)

The only regency of Jakarta is:

• Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu: Pop. 18,644), formerly a subdistrict of North Jakarta.

Culture

As the economic and political capital of Indonesia, Jakarta attracts many foreign as well as domestic immigrants. Many of the immigrants are from the other parts of the island of Java, bringing along a mixture of dialects of the Javanese and Sundanese languages, as well as their traditional foods and customs.

The Betawi (Orang Betawi, or "people of Batavia") is a term used to describe the descendants of the people living around Batavia and recognized as a tribe from around the 18th-19th century. The Betawi people are mostly descended from various Southeast Asian ethnic groups brought or attracted to Batavia to meet labor needs, and include people from various parts of Indonesia.[

The language and culture of these immigrants are distinct from those of the Sundanese or Javanese. The language is more based on East Malay dialect and enriched by loan words from Javanese, Chinese, and Arab. Nowadays, the Jakarta-dialects used by people in Jakarta is loosely based on Betawi Language.

There has also been a significant Chinese community in Jakarta for many centuries. Officially, they make up 6% of the Jakarta population, though this number may be under-reported.

Jakarta has several performing art centers, such as the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) art center in Cikini, Gedung Kesenian Jakarta near Pasar Baru, Balai Sarbini in Mall Semanggi area, and traditional Indonesian art performances at provinces pavilions in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. Traditional music is often found at high-class hotels, including wayang and gamelan performances. Javanese Wayang Orang performance can be found at Wayang Orang Bharata building near Senen bus terminal. As the nation's largest city and capital, Jakarta has lured much national and regional talent who hope to find a greater audience and more opportunities for success.

Ironically, the Betawi arts are rarely found in Jakarta due to their infamous low-profile and most of them had moved to the border of Jakarta, ridden by the wave of immigrant. It is easier to find Java or Minang based wedding ceremonial instead of Betawi wedding in Jakarta. It is easier to find Javanese Gamelan instead of Gambang Kromong (mixture between Betawi and Chinese music) or Tanjidor (mixture between Betawi and Portuguese music) or Marawis (mixture between Betawi and Yaman music). However, some festivals such as Jalan Jaksa Festival or Kemang Festival tried to preserve the Betawi art by inviting the artist to do some performances.