Palembang

Geographical unit

Palembang is an Indonesian town in the southeast of the island of Sumatra, with a population of 1,276,030 (calculated 2010). It is the second largest (after Medan ) Sumatra city and capital of the province of South Sumatra. Its area is 400.61 km ².

The Musi River divides the city in Seberang Ilir to the economic and cultural center on the north and Seberang Ulu to the political center on the southern shore. The city is the administrative center and hub for the fantastic nearby oil fields and rubber plantations. Economically important are beyond refineries, shipbuilding and iron processing. Since 1960 there is a university.

Palembang has multiple ports (Boom Baru, 36 Ilir and Tanjung Api -api ), among others, with ferry services to the island of Bangka and after Banten. Traditional speedboats, called Ketek, transporting passengers along the river banks.

The Sultan Mahmud II Badaruddin airport provides national and international connections.

From the 5th to the 11th century Palembang was the capital of the Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya dominated, the descent began in the 11th century pirate raids from Java and South India. Since the Islamization of Sumatra in the 16th century it was the capital of the Sultanate. The Dutch influence began in the 17th century, in 1825 the Sultanate was abolished and the city came under Dutch colonial administration in 1949 lasted until the independence of Indonesia.

The city is divided into 16 Kecamatan ( sub-districts ) and 107 Kelurahan. The 16 sub-districts are:

• Ilir Timur I
• Ilir Timur II
• Ilir Barat I
• Ilir Barat II
• Seberang Ulu I
• Seberang Ulu II
• Sukarame
• Sako
• Bukit Kecil
• Kemuning
• Kertapati
• Plaju
• Gandus
• Kalidoni
• Alang -alang lebar
• Sematang Borang

Sons and daughters of the town

• Choo Hoey ( b. 1934 ), conductor