Tegal, a small town with a long history. The town’s nautical industry has been known since the 1950s, with one of the renowned local industries being the dockyard. The town also has a harbor where merchant ships anchored in between their journey between islands in the 18th and 19th century. The sailors believed the harbor and dock of Tegal were a safe place to throw their anchors, thanks to its sandy sea bottom.

No wonder, the city slogan is based on the Indonesian word for nautical (bahari) and stands for clean, safe, green, fair, neat, and beautiful. The slogan reflects the locals who depend on the sea for their living. Unrelated to the sea, Tegal is known all over the country for its mixed rice shops, better known as Warung Tegal (warteg / Tegal small eateries).

Tegal keeps on growing and evolving. Development effort keeps going, in the hope of creating a well-organized town. Investors compete to boost the local businesses. On the other hand, the side effects of development loom large. The fisher,en complain about ever-increasing diesel price and regulations that burden them, downtown visitors are confused about the changing public road system, street vendors are being evicted, and there are parking issues. Tegal, a complex town that could not be understood through a single perspective.