Surabaya, Indonesian Heroes Town

Surabaya (formerly spelled as Soerabaja) is Indonesia's second-largest city, and the capital of the province of East Java. It is also one of the biggest cities in Southeast Asia. It is located on the northern shore of eastern Java at the mouth of the Mas River and at the side of the Madura Strait. Known as the city of heroes, because of its heroic role in the history of Indonesia. In 2007, the population of the city is approximately 3 million.

Surabaya is commonly said to derive its name from the words sura or suro (shark) and baya or boyo (crocodile), two creatures which, in a local myth, fought each other in order to gain the title of "the strongest and most powerful animal" in the area according to a Jayabaya prophecy. This prophecy tells about a big fight between a giant white shark and a giant white crocodile in seizing the city upstream. Now the two animals are used as the city's logo, the two facing each other while circling the city's monument, the Heroic Monument (also known as Heroes' monument). This folk etymology, though embraced enthusiastically by city leaders, is somewhat dubious. Alternate derivations proliferate: e.g. from the Javanese sura ing baya, meaning "bravely facing danger". Some people consider this Jayabaya prophecy as a great war between Surabaya native people and invaders in 1945, while another story is about two heroes that fought each other in order to be the king of the city. The two heroes were Sura and Baya.

As the main seaport and commercial center in the eastern region of Indonesia, Surabaya has become one of the largest cities in Southeast Asia. Today, Surabaya's population is around five million, and the surrounding metropolitan area houses at least 7 million. The areas surrounding Surabaya include Lamongan to the northwest, Gresik to the west, Bangkalan to the northeast, Sidoarjo to the south, and Mojokerto and Jombang to the southwest.

Currently, the Indonesian government is building the Suramadu Bridge between Surabaya and the island of Madura; when completed, it will be the longest bridge in the country. Madura is currently accessible by a ferry service that operates regularly from Surabaya's port, Tanjung Perak (which literally means: "Silver Cape" in Indonesian).

BRI Tower, BII Tower, and Graha Pena are three of the highest towers in Surabaya.

Plaza Tunjungan, Galaxy Mall, Surabaya Plaza, Supermal Pakuwon Indah, and Royal Plaza Surabaya are the famous shopping centres in Surabaya.

Surabaya is home to the Eastern Armada, one of two in the Indonesian Navy. Its strong maritime heritage is also reflected with the Submarine Monument, a real retired Russian submarine, called Pasopati, that was converted into a museum ship in the city centre.

Flooding is common in many areas of the city during the rainy season, mostly caused by clogged sewers and inept bureaucracy. The fact that Surabaya is located in a river delta and has a flat and relatively low elevation doesn't help the matter either.

Surabaya is the location of the only synagogue in Indonesia, although it is currently inactive.^[3][4]

Surabaya's zoo, opened in 1916, was the first in the world to have successfully bred orangutans in captivity.

Other points of interest include:

• Grand Mosque of Surabaya, the largest mosque in East Java.
• Cheng Ho Mosque, the first mosque in Indonesia built with a Chinese style architecture
• Jales Veva Jaya Mahe Monument, a large, admiral-like statue which commemorates the Indonesian Navy.
• Mpu Tantular Museum, has a large collection of ancient Javanese artifacts.
• Monkasel, abbreviated from Monumen Kapal Selam (English: Submarine Monument), an old submarine placed as a tourism attraction inside which people can wander. Right beside the monument there is a building where a short movie about the history of the submarine itself can be watched.
• Bonbin Surabaya is one of the famous zoos in Southeast Asia
• Heroic Monument is the main symbol and one of the attractive tourist destinations in Surabaya and Southeast Asia