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The Special Province Of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam
Located in the northernmost part of Sumatra-which is also the northernmost part of Indonesia – Nangroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) has long coastline guarding the entrance to Asia’s most important sea line, The Strait of Malacca.
For hundreds of years all maritime traffic between East and West has passed though the strait. Aceh was the first landfall for Arab and Indian, marines who came to Indonesian in search ofspices, long before the Europeans arrived in this part of the world.
The Northeastern coast of Aceh was also the site of Indonesia’s earliest Islamic Kingdom. By the end of the 13th century trading posts and small kingdoms along Aceh’s eastern coast had developed into Indonesia’s first Islamic state.
Marcopolo visited Aceh in 1292 on his way back to Venice from China, and wrote Of muslim kingdoms called Ferlac (Peureula) and Samudra. (The name “Sumatra” most probably derived from the latter.)
For the next six centuries, foreign merchants and Indonesian traders mingled in Aceh’s ports. During a ‘Golden Age’ at the beginning of the 17th century, under the reign of Iskandar Muda, Aceh became one of Asia’s greatest trading markets. At that time, in its main port of Kuta Raja (now Banda Aceh), a dozen languages must have been heard.
Since the 17th century, Aceh has enjoyed a reputation as the faithful Islamic area in the region. It has also been proudly independent, resisting domination by a succession of Asian and European powers.
Only for 30 years of bitter struggle from 1873 to 1903 was Aceh subject to Dutch rule. But independent the spirit of the Acehnese was never completely broken.
In 1953, eight years after Indonesia’s independence was proclaimed, a 10-year rebellion against the central government control broke out. Aceh was declared a daerah istimewa or ‘special region,’ and granted a degree of autonomy in matters of religion, customary law and education. Recently it has also been grabted a Special Autonomy.
Ports like Samudra-Pasai (Lhoksumawe), Tamiang (Langsa), Peureulak, Samalanga and Pidie (Siglie) developed to serve the olden days trade. All of these converted to Islam during the 13th and 14th centuries, then came under the sway of the powerful sultanate based at Banda Aceh (Kutaraja) in the 16ty century.
These old ports are now half-awake coastal towns connected by a fast asphalt highway running 600 km from Medan up to Banda Aceh.
The economy of Aceh was formerly based on rice, pepper and plantation of rubber and palm. Aceh is now developing rapidly thanks to its rich concentrations of natural gas. Historically this was pioneered by Bataviash Petroleum Maatschappij, the origin of Royal Dutch Shell in 1890s.
At Kuala Simpang, 140 km and 3 hours from Medan, the road crosses the Tamian River. From here onwards, distinctive Chinese red and Indian Brahman cattle are a common sight along the road side.
Reaching Peureulak, the site of a 13th century Islamic state (the Ferlac of Marco Polo), the road crosses the Peureulak river and some distance later passes Kuala Berkah Beach before crossing into the North Aceh regency at Plantonlabu, on the Jambuaye River.
Past Lhoksukon a road branches inland to the village of Minye Tujoh, Matangkuli, where an unusual early Islamic gravestone lor nisan is carved in the Majapahit style of the 14th century Java it is inscribed in two languages – Arabic and Old Javanese.
Batu Aceh (Aceh stone) as they are called, were a major export from the 15th to the late 19th centuries, and have been found as far afield as the Malay Peninsula, Brunei, Banjarmasin in Kalimantan and Banten in Java.
At nearby Blangme (blang means’ cultivated rice field) some 18 km southeast of Lhoksumawe, are extensive Islamic grave complexes marking the side of the twin cities of Pasai and Samudra. In early 13th century, Samudra-Pasai was a strong rival of Malacca.
Among the graves at Blangme is that of Malikul Saleh, first sultan of Pasai, who died in 1397. Here also are tombs of other Pasai royalty made of reworked marble taken from the Hindu temples of Gujarat and decorated with Arabic calligraphy. Best known of these is the grave of Sultanah Bahiyah, who died in 1428.
Access to the grave complexes at Blangme is by a track, which leaves the main road just east of the bridge at Geudong and leads northeast toward the coast.
The site of the former palace of the sultanate is said to be on a high sandy hill named Cot Istana meaning palace hill adjacent Mosque at Kota Krueng. This also near Blangme, reached via a track through the rice fields to the village of Kota Krueng. The story of the founding of Pasai and how Cot Istana was chosen as the palace site is recorded in the Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai or ‘Chronicle of the Pasai Kings’.
PT. Arun, an enormous liquefied natural gas plant with a capacity of 18.8 million metric ton per annum (most of them exported to Japan) is located in Lhoksumawe. Other large-scale projects in the areaare the Asean Aceh Fertilizer plant (capitalized at over US$ 141 million), a Kraft paper factory at Krueng Geukeuh and a LNG plant at Blang Lancang. The town of Lhoksumawe itself is the administrative center for the regency of Aceh Utara (North Aceh), an important rice-growing region.
After Lhoksumawe, is Bireuen, where locally grown coffee, cinnamon, cloves and tobacco are marketed. A side road forks to the left here and climbs up through thickly forested hills and coffee plantations into the northern Gayo Highlands – centering around the town of Takengon and scenic Lake Tawar.
As far as 100 km away from Bireuen is Takengon. The Takengon area boasts a cool, dry climate, dense forests and the scenic beauty of Lake Tawar.
In 1900 the journey to Takengon from the north coast town of Bireuen had to be taken on foot and took up a week. Today, a bus trip takes about three hours.
A day trip to the north of town should include a visit to hot springs at Simpangbaleg, a look at the coffee gardens, and a stop at a handicraft shop in the village of Bebesen.
Go first to Baleatu, about one km to the north of Takengon, to see the area’s open-air – pasar pagi (‘morning market’.) Since the 1930s the highlands have been a center for fruit and vegetable growing, and for trade in tobacco and coffee. Gayo handicrafts are sold in the market, including large and small ceremonial mats and baskets plaited from dyed reeds. Nested basket sets are used by Gayo women to carry ingredients for betel chewing. Men and women also embroider intricate kerrawang designs onto cloth.
Next stop is Simpang Beliq, 20 km north of Takengon on the main Bireuen road (at Km 80), which has a hot spring that, is open all year round.
On the way back to Takengon, stop in Payatumpi (km 97) to see one of the distilleries that produces aromatic oils from the patchouli and citronella plants. This is a growing industry here, and the distillery is open to interested visitors. Finally stop at the village of Bebesen, just north of Takengon, to visit a kerawang cloth embroidery shop.
From the western end of Lake Tawar, the Peusangan River flows through broad plains cultivated with rice on its way to the north coast. The main road leading south from Takengon to Isak, first passes west ward for about 10 km through this scenic Peusangan Valley, winding through rice growing villages with coffee gardens perched on steep slopes to either side. The view from the village of Tan Saril, just outside Takengon is especially beautifull.
The Gayo once lived in multifamily long houses, but today nearly all families live in smaller dwellings. Each village consists of several distinct kin groups. Most members of each group trace their kin ties ( through men or women) to each other, and work together to prepare feasts, mourn the dead and hold weddings.
The paved road continues up over the Bur Lintang Pass, climbing to 1,800 m before descending into the lush, forested Isak River valley. The trip out here and back to Takengon takes a full day.
At Samlanga, 35 km past Biruen, is an elaborately carved rumah adat or traditional Acehnese house, which belonged to the late Major-General Teuku Hamzah. Ten km on, at the Babah Awe near Meureudu are the remains of Kuta Batee, an Acehnese fortification.
At Sigli (Pidie) between the estuaries of the Krueng Baro and the Krueng Tuka, can be seen the remains of another old Acehnese fort, Benteng KutaAsan –visible to the left of the road. In the 16th century, gold was brought over the hills from Meulaboh on the west coast to Pidie on the east coast where it was traded to foreign merchants.
Just to the north, in the limestone-hills above Pidie Point, reached via a side-road from Siglie, is the Guha Tujoh or ‘seven caves’ complex, accessible from Nenasah Cot via Kayeekuniet. At Klibeuet, 6 km from Sigli, is the grave complex known as Teungku di Kandang, the town of Sultan Maarif Syah – the last sultan of Pidie, who died in 1511. A scenic road to the south of Sigli leads up into the highlands to the tradition- al village of Tangse, 52 km away.
Past Sigli, the main highway swings away from the coast and rises up over a pass to the south of Mt. Seulawah (1,806 m), with its twin peaks of Agam (male) and Inong(female), to meet the Krueng Aceh River at Seulimeum.
The road continues down the river 18 km to Indrapuri, site of one of the three main mosques of the former kingdom of Aceh Besar (Greater Aceh). The mosque at Indrapuri.
Is said to have been established on the foundations of an earlier Hindu Buddhist temple. It is set amidst coconut palms on a small hill overlooking the Right Bank of the river, and can be reached by road via a bridge, which crosses the Krueng Aceh, just below it. After Indrapuri, the road follows the valley of the Krueng Aceh, past well-irrigated rice fields into Banda Aceh.
Banda Aceh, the former capital of the fiercely independent sultanate of Aceh, is steeped in history. Aftents conquest by the Dutch it was known as Kutaraja or ‘King’s town’ but was renamed Banda Aceh after independence.
The site of the former dalem or palace of the Acehnese sultan is marked by the former Dutch Residency built in 1880 after the palace had, been raised by invading Dutch forces. It is now the Governor’s House (Pendopo Gubernur). The graves of the former sultans, including the great Iskandar Muda, are just to the northwest on the opposite bank of the river, with their gigantic Nisan or gravestones and other interesting remains.
The Museum Negeri Aceh (Aceh State Museum) holds an interesting collection of historical and ethnographic materials. A large bronze bell, the Cakradonia, hangs in front of the museum.
It was reputedly presented to the Sultan of Pasai by the Chinese imperial eunuch Zheng He in 1414. It is said to have been seized by Sultan Ali Mughayat Syah (1514-30), founder of the state of Aceh, when he conquered Pasai in 1524. In the same complex is traditional Acehnese house.
Upstream from the palace area, a short distance to the southwest, is the enigmatic stone and plaster gunongan – possibly a symbol of authority derived from the pre-Islamic meru, or sacred mountain, once part of the Taman Sari royal pleasure garden within the palace grounds.
It was connected to the palace by a lovely gateway, the pinto khob or pintu Aceh that became a symbol of the kingdom and was used to decorate jewelry and coins. This entire complex was reputedly built by Sultan Iskandar Muda (around 1607-36) during Aceh’s Golden Age’ Nearby is Kandang XII, the burial place of Sultan Iskandar Thani (1636-41), where remains of a gold ornamented coffin were excavated some years ago.
The nearby Kerkhof or Dutch church yard to the west of Taman Sari contains some 2,000 graves of Dutch KNIL army soldiers who died during the 19th century wars, with Aceh. Many among them were actually Javanese, Menadonese and Ambonese enlisted men. More actually died from disease on the battlefield.
The grand Baitturrahman Mosque at the center of Banda Aceh was designed, surprisingly, by an Italian architect and built by the Dutch between 1879-81 to replace the mosque destroyed by their troops during the Aceh wars. The design is Moghul Indian, not traditional Acehnese. The market in north side of the mosque has numerous shops selling Acehnese gold and silver filigree jewelry, among which the pintu Aceh (‘Aceh door) broach design is rightly famous. Other handicraft, such as the rencong or slightly curved traditional dagger worn by both Acehnese men and women, and woven pandan mats and bags, arc found.
Good beaches and dramatic vistas line Aceh’s west coast. Powerful waves crash against the shore, and great caution should be exercised when swimming. Small hotels are found in Meulaboh and Tapaktuan, which make convenient stopover points, depending on the weather and the time of year, magnificent sunsets blaze out across the Indian Ocean.
Leaving Banda Aceh heading south, the road passes the Andalas cements works by the beach at Lhoknga. It then climbs through broken country planted with clove trees, past tiny fishing villages and bays lined with brightly colored perahu. Between Lhong and Suedue it edges along a precipice, affording spectacular views of the Indian Ocean below and the offshore islands of Pulau Bereueh and Pulau Peunasu. The road then descends past a waterfall at Mt. Geureuteeat Lamno a small and non descript market town, some of whose in habitants are said to have inherited blue eyes from the crew of a Portuguese ship that was wrecked nearby in the 16th century.
Further south, the road hugs the shoreline and one is continually reminded of the wildness of the ocean by the foaming surf and sea spray. Font major rivers here have only been bridged in the past several years. In season, large, juicy pomelos (Jeruk Bali) can be obtained.
Just north of Calang the road turns inland around a sheltered, picturesque bay before heading south past a rocky headland, swamps and sandy beaches to Keudepasi, where it again briefly skirts inland over a new bridge across the Krueng Woila. The road then races past beachside coconut palms and casuarinas to Meulaboh, the harbor and administrative center for West Aceh. There is a ferry from here to Simeulue, a remote offshore island known for its clove production.
On the beach just north of town is a monument to Teuku Umar, hero of the Aceh wars who was ambushed and killed by the Dutch in 1899. Also near Meylaboh is a large Indonesian/Belgian oil palm estate and an airstrip. The mountainous hinterland of the region has long been known for its gold production.
South of Meulaboh the road continues on through Pekankuala and Pantai Seunagan to Kutanilang, where it turns inland, skirting a vast swamp before returning to the coast at Blangpidie. Sixty km further south in Tapaktuan, another small port and the administrative center for South Aceh. From Tapaktuan the road again turns inland through mountainous, scarcely-populated country to the North Sumatra border, and the coffee-growing area of the Dairi Batak around Sidikalang.
According to a picture pinned to the wall of a restaurant in Sabang taken in 1914, dozens ocean-going passenger liners and freighters used to anchored offshore or tie to the pier of the harbor.
As steamers replaced sailing ships in the late 19th century, so the history goes, the Dutch decided to develop Sabang, then a tiny Fishing village. They brought coal from mines in Sumatra and stored it in row after row of tin-roofed warehouses that still line the waterfront. A dry-dock for repairing ships and an oil storage depot were built. Fresh water was piped from a lake in the mountains to supply the ships and the Dutch offices, bungalows, clubs and other facilities in the new town. At the point in the early decades of the 20th century, Sabang was a more important port than Singapore. But the transition from steam to diesel power at sea ensured that this ascendancy was short-lived.
Japanese military forces quickly entrenched themselves on Weh land after overrunning Singapore in 1942. They were only dislodged when Japan surrendered three and half years later. Visitors to some of the island’s beaches swim and sunbathe in the shadow of derelict concrete bunkers and gun emplacements dug into the sides of citffs and rocky headlands.
War and foreign occupation seem far removed from the tranquil and unhurried life of Weh today. Fishing, coconut and clove plantations provide a subsistence livelihood for many of the 20,000 people who live on the 150 sq km island. In the late March and early April, just after the harvest, the sides of the narrow roads are lined with pungent cloves drying in the sun.
Weh experienced a second promising burst of business activity after 1970, when the Indonesian government gave Sabang tax-exempt status as a free port. Shipping and trade flourished. Jobs were easy to get and relatively well paid. But in 1986, alarmed at the growth of smuggling to and from the island and anxious to develop Batam, near Singapore, as Indonesia’s premier free trade zone, the central government withdrew Sabang’s special status. Since then, the population on Weh has declined as people moved to other parts of Indonesia in search of work.
Fishing, a newly established rattan cooperative and tourism seem to offer the best hope of future employment on the island. The crystal clear waters and coral reefs teeming with colorful fish are a natural magnet for tourists. A trickle of tourists, mainly backpacker’s content to stay with villagers or in several guesthouses in Sabang arrives on the daily ferry from Sumatra. There is no hotel. The nearest thing to nightlife, apart from a restaurant, is a couple of cinemas.
Sadly, illegal dynamite fishing is slowly destroying some of the best corals, including sections of the splendid undersea garden off Rubiah Island not far from Sabang. Villagers and officials blame unscrupulous Fishermen from Sumatra. They are hard to stop, because the dynamiters operate at night and use fast boats to carry the loads of stunned fish away.
For hundreds of years all maritime traffic between East and West has passed though the strait. Aceh was the first landfall for Arab and Indian, marines who came to Indonesian in search ofspices, long before the Europeans arrived in this part of the world.
The Northeastern coast of Aceh was also the site of Indonesia’s earliest Islamic Kingdom. By the end of the 13th century trading posts and small kingdoms along Aceh’s eastern coast had developed into Indonesia’s first Islamic state.
Marcopolo visited Aceh in 1292 on his way back to Venice from China, and wrote Of muslim kingdoms called Ferlac (Peureula) and Samudra. (The name “Sumatra” most probably derived from the latter.)
For the next six centuries, foreign merchants and Indonesian traders mingled in Aceh’s ports. During a ‘Golden Age’ at the beginning of the 17th century, under the reign of Iskandar Muda, Aceh became one of Asia’s greatest trading markets. At that time, in its main port of Kuta Raja (now Banda Aceh), a dozen languages must have been heard.
Since the 17th century, Aceh has enjoyed a reputation as the faithful Islamic area in the region. It has also been proudly independent, resisting domination by a succession of Asian and European powers.
Only for 30 years of bitter struggle from 1873 to 1903 was Aceh subject to Dutch rule. But independent the spirit of the Acehnese was never completely broken.
In 1953, eight years after Indonesia’s independence was proclaimed, a 10-year rebellion against the central government control broke out. Aceh was declared a daerah istimewa or ‘special region,’ and granted a degree of autonomy in matters of religion, customary law and education. Recently it has also been grabted a Special Autonomy.
Ports like Samudra-Pasai (Lhoksumawe), Tamiang (Langsa), Peureulak, Samalanga and Pidie (Siglie) developed to serve the olden days trade. All of these converted to Islam during the 13th and 14th centuries, then came under the sway of the powerful sultanate based at Banda Aceh (Kutaraja) in the 16ty century.
These old ports are now half-awake coastal towns connected by a fast asphalt highway running 600 km from Medan up to Banda Aceh.
The economy of Aceh was formerly based on rice, pepper and plantation of rubber and palm. Aceh is now developing rapidly thanks to its rich concentrations of natural gas. Historically this was pioneered by Bataviash Petroleum Maatschappij, the origin of Royal Dutch Shell in 1890s.
- FROM MEDAN TO BANDA ACEH
At Kuala Simpang, 140 km and 3 hours from Medan, the road crosses the Tamian River. From here onwards, distinctive Chinese red and Indian Brahman cattle are a common sight along the road side.
Reaching Peureulak, the site of a 13th century Islamic state (the Ferlac of Marco Polo), the road crosses the Peureulak river and some distance later passes Kuala Berkah Beach before crossing into the North Aceh regency at Plantonlabu, on the Jambuaye River.
Past Lhoksukon a road branches inland to the village of Minye Tujoh, Matangkuli, where an unusual early Islamic gravestone lor nisan is carved in the Majapahit style of the 14th century Java it is inscribed in two languages – Arabic and Old Javanese.
Batu Aceh (Aceh stone) as they are called, were a major export from the 15th to the late 19th centuries, and have been found as far afield as the Malay Peninsula, Brunei, Banjarmasin in Kalimantan and Banten in Java.
At nearby Blangme (blang means’ cultivated rice field) some 18 km southeast of Lhoksumawe, are extensive Islamic grave complexes marking the side of the twin cities of Pasai and Samudra. In early 13th century, Samudra-Pasai was a strong rival of Malacca.
Among the graves at Blangme is that of Malikul Saleh, first sultan of Pasai, who died in 1397. Here also are tombs of other Pasai royalty made of reworked marble taken from the Hindu temples of Gujarat and decorated with Arabic calligraphy. Best known of these is the grave of Sultanah Bahiyah, who died in 1428.
Access to the grave complexes at Blangme is by a track, which leaves the main road just east of the bridge at Geudong and leads northeast toward the coast.
The site of the former palace of the sultanate is said to be on a high sandy hill named Cot Istana meaning palace hill adjacent Mosque at Kota Krueng. This also near Blangme, reached via a track through the rice fields to the village of Kota Krueng. The story of the founding of Pasai and how Cot Istana was chosen as the palace site is recorded in the Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai or ‘Chronicle of the Pasai Kings’.
PT. Arun, an enormous liquefied natural gas plant with a capacity of 18.8 million metric ton per annum (most of them exported to Japan) is located in Lhoksumawe. Other large-scale projects in the areaare the Asean Aceh Fertilizer plant (capitalized at over US$ 141 million), a Kraft paper factory at Krueng Geukeuh and a LNG plant at Blang Lancang. The town of Lhoksumawe itself is the administrative center for the regency of Aceh Utara (North Aceh), an important rice-growing region.
After Lhoksumawe, is Bireuen, where locally grown coffee, cinnamon, cloves and tobacco are marketed. A side road forks to the left here and climbs up through thickly forested hills and coffee plantations into the northern Gayo Highlands – centering around the town of Takengon and scenic Lake Tawar.
As far as 100 km away from Bireuen is Takengon. The Takengon area boasts a cool, dry climate, dense forests and the scenic beauty of Lake Tawar.
In 1900 the journey to Takengon from the north coast town of Bireuen had to be taken on foot and took up a week. Today, a bus trip takes about three hours.
A day trip to the north of town should include a visit to hot springs at Simpangbaleg, a look at the coffee gardens, and a stop at a handicraft shop in the village of Bebesen.
Go first to Baleatu, about one km to the north of Takengon, to see the area’s open-air – pasar pagi (‘morning market’.) Since the 1930s the highlands have been a center for fruit and vegetable growing, and for trade in tobacco and coffee. Gayo handicrafts are sold in the market, including large and small ceremonial mats and baskets plaited from dyed reeds. Nested basket sets are used by Gayo women to carry ingredients for betel chewing. Men and women also embroider intricate kerrawang designs onto cloth.
Next stop is Simpang Beliq, 20 km north of Takengon on the main Bireuen road (at Km 80), which has a hot spring that, is open all year round.
On the way back to Takengon, stop in Payatumpi (km 97) to see one of the distilleries that produces aromatic oils from the patchouli and citronella plants. This is a growing industry here, and the distillery is open to interested visitors. Finally stop at the village of Bebesen, just north of Takengon, to visit a kerawang cloth embroidery shop.
From the western end of Lake Tawar, the Peusangan River flows through broad plains cultivated with rice on its way to the north coast. The main road leading south from Takengon to Isak, first passes west ward for about 10 km through this scenic Peusangan Valley, winding through rice growing villages with coffee gardens perched on steep slopes to either side. The view from the village of Tan Saril, just outside Takengon is especially beautifull.
The Gayo once lived in multifamily long houses, but today nearly all families live in smaller dwellings. Each village consists of several distinct kin groups. Most members of each group trace their kin ties ( through men or women) to each other, and work together to prepare feasts, mourn the dead and hold weddings.
The paved road continues up over the Bur Lintang Pass, climbing to 1,800 m before descending into the lush, forested Isak River valley. The trip out here and back to Takengon takes a full day.
At Samlanga, 35 km past Biruen, is an elaborately carved rumah adat or traditional Acehnese house, which belonged to the late Major-General Teuku Hamzah. Ten km on, at the Babah Awe near Meureudu are the remains of Kuta Batee, an Acehnese fortification.
At Sigli (Pidie) between the estuaries of the Krueng Baro and the Krueng Tuka, can be seen the remains of another old Acehnese fort, Benteng KutaAsan –visible to the left of the road. In the 16th century, gold was brought over the hills from Meulaboh on the west coast to Pidie on the east coast where it was traded to foreign merchants.
Just to the north, in the limestone-hills above Pidie Point, reached via a side-road from Siglie, is the Guha Tujoh or ‘seven caves’ complex, accessible from Nenasah Cot via Kayeekuniet. At Klibeuet, 6 km from Sigli, is the grave complex known as Teungku di Kandang, the town of Sultan Maarif Syah – the last sultan of Pidie, who died in 1511. A scenic road to the south of Sigli leads up into the highlands to the tradition- al village of Tangse, 52 km away.
Past Sigli, the main highway swings away from the coast and rises up over a pass to the south of Mt. Seulawah (1,806 m), with its twin peaks of Agam (male) and Inong(female), to meet the Krueng Aceh River at Seulimeum.
The road continues down the river 18 km to Indrapuri, site of one of the three main mosques of the former kingdom of Aceh Besar (Greater Aceh). The mosque at Indrapuri.
Is said to have been established on the foundations of an earlier Hindu Buddhist temple. It is set amidst coconut palms on a small hill overlooking the Right Bank of the river, and can be reached by road via a bridge, which crosses the Krueng Aceh, just below it. After Indrapuri, the road follows the valley of the Krueng Aceh, past well-irrigated rice fields into Banda Aceh.
- BANDA ACEH
Banda Aceh, the former capital of the fiercely independent sultanate of Aceh, is steeped in history. Aftents conquest by the Dutch it was known as Kutaraja or ‘King’s town’ but was renamed Banda Aceh after independence.The site of the former dalem or palace of the Acehnese sultan is marked by the former Dutch Residency built in 1880 after the palace had, been raised by invading Dutch forces. It is now the Governor’s House (Pendopo Gubernur). The graves of the former sultans, including the great Iskandar Muda, are just to the northwest on the opposite bank of the river, with their gigantic Nisan or gravestones and other interesting remains.
The Museum Negeri Aceh (Aceh State Museum) holds an interesting collection of historical and ethnographic materials. A large bronze bell, the Cakradonia, hangs in front of the museum.
It was reputedly presented to the Sultan of Pasai by the Chinese imperial eunuch Zheng He in 1414. It is said to have been seized by Sultan Ali Mughayat Syah (1514-30), founder of the state of Aceh, when he conquered Pasai in 1524. In the same complex is traditional Acehnese house.
Upstream from the palace area, a short distance to the southwest, is the enigmatic stone and plaster gunongan – possibly a symbol of authority derived from the pre-Islamic meru, or sacred mountain, once part of the Taman Sari royal pleasure garden within the palace grounds.
It was connected to the palace by a lovely gateway, the pinto khob or pintu Aceh that became a symbol of the kingdom and was used to decorate jewelry and coins. This entire complex was reputedly built by Sultan Iskandar Muda (around 1607-36) during Aceh’s Golden Age’ Nearby is Kandang XII, the burial place of Sultan Iskandar Thani (1636-41), where remains of a gold ornamented coffin were excavated some years ago.
The nearby Kerkhof or Dutch church yard to the west of Taman Sari contains some 2,000 graves of Dutch KNIL army soldiers who died during the 19th century wars, with Aceh. Many among them were actually Javanese, Menadonese and Ambonese enlisted men. More actually died from disease on the battlefield.
The grand Baitturrahman Mosque at the center of Banda Aceh was designed, surprisingly, by an Italian architect and built by the Dutch between 1879-81 to replace the mosque destroyed by their troops during the Aceh wars. The design is Moghul Indian, not traditional Acehnese. The market in north side of the mosque has numerous shops selling Acehnese gold and silver filigree jewelry, among which the pintu Aceh (‘Aceh door) broach design is rightly famous. Other handicraft, such as the rencong or slightly curved traditional dagger worn by both Acehnese men and women, and woven pandan mats and bags, arc found.
- WESTERN ACEH
Good beaches and dramatic vistas line Aceh’s west coast. Powerful waves crash against the shore, and great caution should be exercised when swimming. Small hotels are found in Meulaboh and Tapaktuan, which make convenient stopover points, depending on the weather and the time of year, magnificent sunsets blaze out across the Indian Ocean.
Leaving Banda Aceh heading south, the road passes the Andalas cements works by the beach at Lhoknga. It then climbs through broken country planted with clove trees, past tiny fishing villages and bays lined with brightly colored perahu. Between Lhong and Suedue it edges along a precipice, affording spectacular views of the Indian Ocean below and the offshore islands of Pulau Bereueh and Pulau Peunasu. The road then descends past a waterfall at Mt. Geureuteeat Lamno a small and non descript market town, some of whose in habitants are said to have inherited blue eyes from the crew of a Portuguese ship that was wrecked nearby in the 16th century.
Further south, the road hugs the shoreline and one is continually reminded of the wildness of the ocean by the foaming surf and sea spray. Font major rivers here have only been bridged in the past several years. In season, large, juicy pomelos (Jeruk Bali) can be obtained.
Just north of Calang the road turns inland around a sheltered, picturesque bay before heading south past a rocky headland, swamps and sandy beaches to Keudepasi, where it again briefly skirts inland over a new bridge across the Krueng Woila. The road then races past beachside coconut palms and casuarinas to Meulaboh, the harbor and administrative center for West Aceh. There is a ferry from here to Simeulue, a remote offshore island known for its clove production.
On the beach just north of town is a monument to Teuku Umar, hero of the Aceh wars who was ambushed and killed by the Dutch in 1899. Also near Meylaboh is a large Indonesian/Belgian oil palm estate and an airstrip. The mountainous hinterland of the region has long been known for its gold production.
South of Meulaboh the road continues on through Pekankuala and Pantai Seunagan to Kutanilang, where it turns inland, skirting a vast swamp before returning to the coast at Blangpidie. Sixty km further south in Tapaktuan, another small port and the administrative center for South Aceh. From Tapaktuan the road again turns inland through mountainous, scarcely-populated country to the North Sumatra border, and the coffee-growing area of the Dairi Batak around Sidikalang.
- SABANG
According to a picture pinned to the wall of a restaurant in Sabang taken in 1914, dozens ocean-going passenger liners and freighters used to anchored offshore or tie to the pier of the harbor.
As steamers replaced sailing ships in the late 19th century, so the history goes, the Dutch decided to develop Sabang, then a tiny Fishing village. They brought coal from mines in Sumatra and stored it in row after row of tin-roofed warehouses that still line the waterfront. A dry-dock for repairing ships and an oil storage depot were built. Fresh water was piped from a lake in the mountains to supply the ships and the Dutch offices, bungalows, clubs and other facilities in the new town. At the point in the early decades of the 20th century, Sabang was a more important port than Singapore. But the transition from steam to diesel power at sea ensured that this ascendancy was short-lived.
Japanese military forces quickly entrenched themselves on Weh land after overrunning Singapore in 1942. They were only dislodged when Japan surrendered three and half years later. Visitors to some of the island’s beaches swim and sunbathe in the shadow of derelict concrete bunkers and gun emplacements dug into the sides of citffs and rocky headlands.
War and foreign occupation seem far removed from the tranquil and unhurried life of Weh today. Fishing, coconut and clove plantations provide a subsistence livelihood for many of the 20,000 people who live on the 150 sq km island. In the late March and early April, just after the harvest, the sides of the narrow roads are lined with pungent cloves drying in the sun.
Weh experienced a second promising burst of business activity after 1970, when the Indonesian government gave Sabang tax-exempt status as a free port. Shipping and trade flourished. Jobs were easy to get and relatively well paid. But in 1986, alarmed at the growth of smuggling to and from the island and anxious to develop Batam, near Singapore, as Indonesia’s premier free trade zone, the central government withdrew Sabang’s special status. Since then, the population on Weh has declined as people moved to other parts of Indonesia in search of work.
Fishing, a newly established rattan cooperative and tourism seem to offer the best hope of future employment on the island. The crystal clear waters and coral reefs teeming with colorful fish are a natural magnet for tourists. A trickle of tourists, mainly backpacker’s content to stay with villagers or in several guesthouses in Sabang arrives on the daily ferry from Sumatra. There is no hotel. The nearest thing to nightlife, apart from a restaurant, is a couple of cinemas.
Sadly, illegal dynamite fishing is slowly destroying some of the best corals, including sections of the splendid undersea garden off Rubiah Island not far from Sabang. Villagers and officials blame unscrupulous Fishermen from Sumatra. They are hard to stop, because the dynamiters operate at night and use fast boats to carry the loads of stunned fish away.