Jakarta is a fascinating city。 Its attraction lies in the incredibly wide variety of people – Indonesians， Chinese， Indians， Arabs and Europeans – who have arrived over the centuries， bringing with them their own habits， folklore and culture。 Their descendants have resulted in a vibrant mix of people， most of them making a living along the thousands of small lanes and alleys that criss-cross the kampungs of this enormous city。 Artefacts indicate that this area was inhabited from the fifth century。 Hundreds of years later， a small trading post on the coast named Kelapa was founded and eventually grew into the mega-city of Jakarta with over twenty million people。

This book provides a unique look at the history of Jakarta through the eyes of individuals who have walked its streets through the ages， revealing how some of the challenges confronting the city today – congestion， poverty， floods and land subsidence – mirror the struggles the city has had to face in the past。