Gresik is the capital of the sub-region of Gerbangkartasusilo, East Java

East Java

East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and islands to its east and to its north East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

.

History

The port of Gresik-Djaratan has functioned as an important commercial center since the eleventh century, trading with merchants from as far away as China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, and Arabia. Some of these traders helped spread Islam in the area. In 1487, Sunan Giri

Sunan Giri

Sunan Giri , Muhammad Ainul Yakin Sunan Giri (also called Raden Paku or Joko Samudra), Muhammad Ainul Yakin Sunan Giri (also called Raden Paku or Joko Samudra), Muhammad Ainul Yakin (born 1442 CE in Blambangan (now Banyuwangi) is considered to be one of the Wali Sanga of Indonesia.- History :...

, Syech Maulana Malik Ibrahim, also known as Sultan Ainul Yaqin, began to rule Gresik. In his 1515 book, Suma Oriental, the Portuguese apothecary and traveller Tomé Pires

Tomé Pires

Tomé Pires was an apothecary from Lisbon who spent 1512 to 1515 in Malacca immediately after the Portuguese conquest, at a time when Europeans were only first arriving in South East Asia...

 described Gresik as "the jewel of Java in trading ports".
Sunan Giri's descendants ruled the area for the following two centuries.

In 1974 the Indonesian government made Gresik, now a suburb of the regional capital of Surabaya

Surabaya

Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...

, the capital of Gerbankartasusilo.

Industry

A large number of industries have established themselves in Gresik, mainly supporting agriculture and agricultural machinery. A lot of home-based industry exists, making caps (songkoks), bags, etc.

One of the largest factories in Gresik is PT. Semen Gresik (Gresik Portland Cement). PT. Semen Gresik, the largest cement factory in Indonesia, supplies 80% of the Indonesian market.

21st-century Gresik

The city has a reputation for its many coffee shops, called warkop (from warung kopi). In 2003 Petrokimia Putra, a soccer club from Gresik, won their first national league title in Jakarta.

External links

• Official Information Center of Gresik Regency