Global - Technology - Review

Indonesia’s territory consists of over 17,000 islands. It is the world’s fourth most populous country and has the largest Muslim population. Religion and a shared language have helped unite the ethnically diverse nation, which stretches from Sumatra in the west to Papua in the east. The climate is tropical, and the region is a centre of volcanic activity. There were devastating eruptions of Krakatoa and Tambura during the nineteenth century, and the Tsunami of 2004 was the result of seismic activity. Despite a diverse flora and fauna, there have been problems of habitat destruction, which have left the orang-utan critically endangered. Indonesia’s cuisine is becoming better known, with dishes like nasi goring and sate, grilled skewered meat, and the hot sambal sauces. The use of cloves and nutmeg remind us that these were once known in the West as the ‘Spice Islands’. There is a tradition of shadow puppetry, sometimes based on Hindu legends. The temple at Borobudur is the world’s largest Buddhist monument, and Indonesia’s most visited attraction. Rumah Gadang, the traditional building style, is characterised by horn-like roof projections, and this is sometimes copied in a modern idiom. Jakarta, on the island of Java, is the capital.