Approximately ten percent of Lomboks 2.5 million inhabitants, are Balinese, and it's very easy, especially if you arrive in the west where most Balinese are settled, surrounded by their distinctive temples and household architecture, to perceive Lombok simply as an extension of Bali. However, the majority of the populations are the indigenous Muslim sasak, people. Today the two cultures appear to coexist relatively amicably, but it doesn't take too long to discern rather less imitable emotions below the surface- perhaps not surprising given historical events and the fact that a lot of the economic advantages of increased tourism have eluded the native Sasak.

From the seventeenth century onwards, Lombok can increasingly under Balinese influence, after the Balinese had helped the Sasak aristocracy defeat invaders from Sumbawa, to the, east. Infighting among the rajas of the four Lombok principalities - Pagasangan, Pagutan, Mataram and Cakranegara - further weakened the hold of the Sasak rulers. In 1830, Ratu Agung acceded to the throne of Mataram, and over the next thirteen years brought the whole of Lombok under his rule. In 1849, he also gained control of Karangasem in east Bali in return for supplying his subjects to the Dutch as troops for their campaigns in Bali. His brother, Ratu Agung Ngurah, succeeded him in 1872, and, seeking to serve his own ambitions in Bali, pushed the demand for troops too far. The residents of Praya rebelled in 1891, and unrest quickly spread. The Dutch intervened and eventually invaded Lombok in 1894, bringing the entire island under colonial rule until Indonesian Independence.

Measuring 801un by 70km, Lombok is slightly smaller than Bali and divides conveniently into three geographical regions. 'Me mountainous, parched northern area is dominated by the awesome bulk of Gunung Rinjani, at 3726m the third highest peak in Indonesia, and until late 1994 believed to be dormant Trekking at least part of the way up Rinjani is the reason many tourists come to Lombok, and it's an easily organized and highly satisfying trip. To the south of this mass, the central plains, about 25km wide, contain the most productive agricultural areas as well as the major road on the island linking the west and east coasts. Attractive villages perched in the southern foothills of. Rinjani are easily accessible from here, and many of the island's craft centers are also in or near this cross-island corridor. Further south again is a range of low inland hills, around 500m high, behind the sweeping bays and pure white sands of the southern beaches, all of which can be explored from Kuta, the accommodation centre of the south and surfing focus of the island. Several groups of islands lie off the

Lombok coast. The trio of Gin Islands- Trawangan, Meno and Air - off the northwest coast, are the best known to tourists, long-time favorites with backpackers in search of sea, sun and sand in simple surroundings, although Gili Trawangan, in particular, is heading up market at a rapid rate. Those off the southwest peninsula and the northeast coast are also becoming more accessible.
Lombok's rainfall ranges from 1500mm to 2000mm a year, much drier than Bali, but wetter than Sumbawa and the islands further east. As with Bali there are two seasons, rainy from November to March and dry the rest of the year. Lombok, s economy is based on agriculture, with rice, cassava, cotton, tobacco (major export), Soya, beans and chili peppers being produced. However, in recent
centuries the island has found it impossible to support its burgeoning population, and thousands have died in fan-tines on the island, reportedly 50,000 as recently
as 1966. Consequently, many people have left and continue to leave, to settle on other Indonesian islands as part of the government's transmigrasi scheme The government is also trying to moderate the island's dependence on agriculture, and pumice is now the main export mostly to Hong Kong.

Cultivated pearls, farmed in co-operation with the Japanese, fetch over US$1 million a year, seaweed and sea cucumber are growing in economic importance, and income from the increasingly well-known pottery industry and from tourism is rising annually.

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