ACEH AND ITS SURROUNDINGS

 Aceh

Aceh (Acehnese: Acèh; Jawi: ‫ ;اچيه‬Dutch: Atjeh or Acheh; Indonesian: Provinsi Aceh) is
a special region of Indonesia. The territory is located at the northern end of Sumatra. Its capital
is Banda Aceh. It is close to the Andaman and Nicobar Islandsof India and separated from them
by the Andaman Sea.
There are 10 indigenous ethnic groups in this region, the largest being the Acehnese people,
accounting for approximately 80 to 90% of the region's population.
Aceh is thought to have been the place where the spread of Islam in Indonesia began, and was a
key factor of the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia. Islam reached Aceh (Kingdoms of Fansur
and Lamuri) around 1250 AD. In the early seventeenth century the Sultanate of Aceh was the
most wealthy, powerful and cultivated state in the Malacca Straits region. Aceh has a history of
political independence and resistance to control by outsiders, including the former Dutch
colonists and the Indonesian government.
Aceh has substantial natural resources, including oil and natural gas; some estimates put Aceh
gas reserves as being the largest in the world. Relative to most of Indonesia, it is a
religiously conservative area.[3] It has the highest proportion of Muslims in Indonesia, who mostly
live according to Sharia customs and laws.[4]
Aceh was the closest point of land to the epicenter of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and
tsunami, which devastated much of the western coast of the province. Approximately 170,000
Indonesians were killed or went missing in the disaster.[5]The disaster helped precipitate the
peace agreement between the government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement(GAM).
Aceh was first known as Aceh Darussalam (1511–1959) and then later as the Daerah Istimewa
Aceh (1959–2001), Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam (2001–2009) and Aceh (2009–present). Past
spellings of Aceh include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin.
Baiturrahman grand mosque

Baiturrahman grand mosque is a mosque located in the center of Banda Aceh. This mosque was once a
mosque Sultanate of Aceh. When the Dutch attacked the city of Banda Aceh in 1873, the mosque was
burned. Then in 1875 the Dutch rebuilding a mosque as his successor.

The mosque, which occupies an area of approximately four acres of this beautiful and unique architecture,
has seven domes, four towers, and one parent tower. Artificial marble floored room in Italy, the extent of
reaching 4,760 m2 and can accommodate up to 9,000 worshipers. In the front yard of the mosque there is
a large pool, the grass is neatly trimmed with ornamental plants and palm trees. Historical events of the last
is the tsunami of 26 December 2004.

The height of the tsunami and the swift water of up to two meters were almost flooded the room in the
Masjid Raya, to witness history for most people who survived when the shelter in Masjid Raya. After the
tsunami water receded, the Grand Mosque was used as a place to put thousands of bodies of tsunami
victims.

Taman Putroe Phang

Putroe Phang Park, located in the sultan's palace complex in Banda Aceh. This park is made for the
Empress Sultaan Iskandar Muda named Putroe Phang which means Princess of Pahang, which is derived
from Pahang, Malaysia.

In the park there is a unique building, called Gunongan, made to resemble a hill - hill located in Pahang,
Malaysia. The building was made at the request of the Empress himself, who always miss hometown,
Pahang. That said, because too love the Emperor to his wife, the Sultan ordered the construction of the
structure's history in the middle of the field Khayali (Castle Park) as a token of his love.

Sultan interest to the Empress not only on beauty alone, an aura of intelligence Putroe Phang also
admirable. In addition, Phang Putroe dinobatkeun as government advisor with expertise in making laws
about girls. Therefore, Sultan build Gunongan to treat miss princess. Until now, the structure's history can
still be seen and visited.
Ali Hasjmy Museum

Ali Hasjmy was born in Lampeseh, Banda Aceh March 28, 1914 and died in Banda Aceh, January 18,
1998. Known as scholars, writers, humanists and also as a politician. He has held the Governor of Aceh
and Rector of IAIN Ar-Raniry Jami'ah Darussalam, Banda Aceh.

He was also Member of the Board of ICMI (Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals) Center. When
he was no longer active in government, he is only active in the world of education. As a token of
appreciation itself to the development of science, he founded the Ali Hasjmy Education Foundation at the
beginning of 1989.

In 1990 he devoted Foundation in the form of a land area of nearly 3,000 m2, the books of more than
15,000 volumes, the manuscripts, photo albums worth history and culture, as well as a lot of historically
valuable heirlooms. All his belongings are collected Library and Museum Education Foundation Ali Hasjmy.
On January 15, 1991, Library and Museum was inaugurated by Prof. Dr.Emil Salim, as Minister of State for
Population and the Environment at the time.

Taman Nasional Gunung Leuser

Commonly abbreviated TNGL is a nature reserve status as a national park on the border of Aceh and North
Sumatra, covering areas of Southeast Aceh District, Aceh Singkil, South Aceh, Gayo Lues, and Langkat.
The first four districts including administrative region of North Sumatra. Visit for more informationwebsite
Taman Nasional Gunung Leuser.

This national park takes its name from Gunung Leuser towering to a height of 3404 meters above sea level
in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. The national park includes ecosystems of the coast to the high mountains
covered by dense forests typical of tropical rain forest.

The national park is the first officially designated as a national nature reserve by the Minister of Forestry in
1980. Object Bukit Lawang Orangutan Reserve, in Langkat, North Sumatra. In addition, this national park
has also received attention due to rampant cases of illegal tree felling which violate environmental
reservation. Mount Leuser National Park or TNGL the natural scenery and the "lungs" of the world that
have been established by the Government of Indonesia as a national nature reserve since 1980 and
designated as a world heritage (Biosphere) by UNESCO in 2004.

Monumen PLTD Apung

The tsunami waves that hit the northern coast of Banda Aceh in December 2004 still have left a trail. Not
only is pictured in the memory, the tsunami also left a trail of monuments. The monument is a warning for
everyone against the enormity of the forces of nature.

One of them is Monument diesel (PLTD-Diesel Power Plant) Floating Village Punge, Blancut, Banda
Aceh. As the name implies, this ship is a source of electricity to the Ulee Lheue area - where the ship is
moored before the tsunami.Ships with a length of 63 meters is capable of producing 10.5 megawatts of
power.With an area of 1,900 square meters and a weight of 2,600 tons, no one imagined this ship can
move up to the middle of the city of Banda Aceh.

When the tsunami struck on December 26, 2004, the ship was dragged tidal waves as high as 9 meters
thus shifted to the heart of the city of Banda Aceh as far as 5 kilometers. The ship slammed up into the
middle of the residential area, not far from the Tsunami Museum.Of the 11 crew and few people were on
board when the tsunami hit, only one person survived.

The phenomenon of shifting the ship shows the magnitude of power of the waves that hit the Veranda of
Mecca at the time.Today, the area around the diesel Buoyancy has been purchased by the government to
be reorganized into educational tourism vehicle. To commemorate the lives lost in the tsunami, built
memorial. At the monument, specifying the date and time of occurrence of a disaster that also hit several
countries besides Indonesia.Around the monument, built walls with wavelike relief flood. From the ship,
visitors can also see a series of Bukit Barisan mountains.

Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aceh
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