Lombok

Lombok is an island in Indonesia. It is part of the Lesser Sunda Islands and is located in the province of Nusa Tenggara Barat.

On the 4725 km ² island of 2.4 million people. The capital Mataram has about 360,000 inhabitants.

Agriculture

Lombok has agricultural land in the highlands and the south adjacent areas, which run like a belt from the populous west to the east. The rather dry coastal lowlands have a savannah -like character. The main agricultural yields are cassava, onions and coconuts. The also operated rice cultivation is less successful here than on the neighboring island of Bali. It is also operated fishing and breeding. A line drawn here chilli variety is called cabe lombok ( Cabe, Cabai and lombok are Indonesian words for chili).

Geography

The Lombok Strait marks the west, between Bali and Lombok, with the Wallace Line biogeographic boundary between the animal and plant world of Australia and Asia. In the east, the Alas - road runs to Palau Sumbawa.

The island is of volcanic origin. It is surrounded by several smaller islands. The best known are the Gili Islands, located in the north - west. In the north - east are Gili Gili Lawang and Sulat Lombok. The main island is characterized by the 3,726 meter high Mount Rinjani, the second largest in Indonesia. In the southern part is a fertile plain cultivated in the rice and coffee. The rainy season is from October to May and the dry season from June to October.

Population

The population consists of 85 % Sasak, 10-15 % Balinese and minorities of Chinese, Arabs, Javanese and Sumbawanesen. On Lombok Indonesian and various dialects of Sasak language ( ngeno - nGene, ngeto - ngeté, meno - Mené and meriaq - meriku ) are spoken. These vary in part from village to village.

The Sasak are ethnically and culturally closely related to the Balinese. Is prevalent since the 16th century, Islam, which is called in Lombok in its most orthodox form of Waktu Lima. A small minority of the Sasak are followers of the syncretic religion Waktu Telu, a mixture of Islam, Hinduism and Balinese ancestor worship. According culturally independently are therefore also the ceremonies and rituals on Lombok.

History

The earliest known state was founded on Lombok was a kingdom of the Sasak named Selaparang. It was founded by three brothers ( including Nek Laki Sutanata, Prabu Kusuma Merapit ). In Selaparang the eldest could not be king, but only the king as consultants are available to side. The Kingdom was split up into smaller states and was ruled by Balinese prince from the mid-18th century.

The first Dutch landed in 1674 and later settled in the east of the island. They fought in 1891 along with the Sasak in a bloody revolt against the ruling in the West Hindu dynasty from Bali. The revolt ended in 1894 with the connection of the entire island to the Dutch colonial possessions. During World War II, the island was occupied by the Japanese in 1942. Since its declaration of independence on August 17, 1945 Lombok is part of Indonesia. While political unrest in the 1960s, Communists and members of the Chinese minority were killed. In 2000 there was another unrest and attacks against the Christian minority Chinese.

Culture

The Music of Lombok is divided according to the two religious and cultural traditions of the Sasak in orchestra ( gamelan ), whose instruments and articulations from Bali and Java come, and in musical styles that are attributed to Islam with instruments by Muslims last in the centuries were brought to the island over Sulawesi or Sumbawa.

Tourism

The development of Lombok by tourism as less crowded alternative to Bali began around 1980., The most developed tourist center is around Senggigi and stretches 10 km along the coast road. In the shadow of the resort island of Bali Lombok is also keen to promote tourism. A number of comfortable hotels and good restaurants offer friendly service, usually at lower prices than in Bali. For backpackers, the Gili Islands are popular, which can be reached from Lombok in about an hour by ferry or charter boats.

Traffic

The Lombok International Airport with the official name Bandara International Lombok (LOP ) opened on 1 October 2011 and thus replaces the previous Selaparang Airport in the capital Mataram from.

The ferry from Padang Bai on Bali after Lembar and takes about 4-9 hours. From Labuan Lombok to Poto Tano on Sumbawa a ferry takes 2 hours. Also, connect, as everywhere in Indonesia, minibuses major cities.