Banda Aceh (
Acehnese: ''Banda Acèh'',
Jawoë: كوتا بند اچيه) is the capital and largest city in the province of
Aceh
Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. It is located on the island of
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
and has an elevation of . The city covers an area of and had a population of 223,446 people at the 2010 Census,
[Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.] rising to 252,899 at the 2020 Census.
The official estimate as at mid 2021 was 255,029.
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2022.]
Banda Aceh is located on the northwestern tip of Indonesia at the mouth of the
Aceh River
The Aceh river on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia flows from mountains that include the 2780-metre high Mount Peuët Sagoë for some two hundred kilometres northeastward to reach the junction of the Indian Ocean and the Andaman Sea at Banda Ac ...
. Banda Aceh itself is a
semi-enclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
within
Aceh Besar Regency
Great Aceh Regency ( id, Kabupaten Aceh Besar) is a regency of the Indonesian province of Aceh. The regency covers an area of 2,903.49 square kilometres and had a population of 351,418 at the 2010 Census and 405,535 at the 2020 Census; the offici ...
, as Banda Aceh is surrounded by Aceh Besar to the south, east, and west, while it borders with the
Strait of Malacca
The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connec ...
to the north.
The city was originally established as Bandar Aceh Darussalam Kandang and served as a capital and hub for the
Sultanate of Aceh
The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam ( ace, Keurajeuën Acèh Darussalam; Jawoë: كاورجاون اچيه دارالسلام), was a sultanate centered in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a major ...
upon its foundation in the late 15th century. Later its name was changed to ''Bandar Aceh Darussalam'', and then it became popularly known as ''Banda Aceh''. The first part of the name comes from the
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
''bandar'' (بندر) meaning "port" or "haven". The city is also dubbed the "port to Mecca," or the "porch of
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
" (Indonesian: ''Serambi Mekkah'') in reference to the days when
hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
pilgrims travelled by sea from Indonesia and would make a stopover in the city before continuing their journey to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
.
Banda Aceh was long at the center of protracted conflicts between the Acehnese and foreign powers, including the Portuguese,
the Dutch, the Japanese, and
the Indonesian government. The city rose to international prominence in the aftermath of the
Indian Ocean earthquake
An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Sum ...
in 2004, which struck off the western coast of Sumatra. Banda Aceh was the closest major city to the earthquake's
epicenter
The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates.
Surface damage
Before the instrumental pe ...
, which lay off the coast. It suffered great damage in the earthquake and further damage when a
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
struck shortly afterwards. Around 60,000 people in the city died as a result and many more were injured.
The aftermath of the tsunami has seen a cessation of much of the conflict in the city and province, and domestic and international aid, as a result, has seen a major modernization and reconstruction of the city over the past decade.
History
Banda Aceh, situated at the tip of Sumatra, has long been a strategic, transportation and trading hub in the eastern
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
. Its first mention in western accounts comes from 1292 when
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
and his expedition visited the city, referred to as 'Lambri' from
Lamuri Kingdom which previously existed there and noted as the logical first port of call for travellers from
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
and
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
to
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...
also reported visiting the city in the mid-14th century when under the control of the trading kingdom of
Samudera Pasai
The Samudera Pasai Sultanate (), also known as Samudera or Pasai or Samudera Darussalam or Pacem, was a Muslim harbour kingdom on the north coast of Sumatra from the 13th to the 16th centuries CE. The kingdom was believed to have been founded ...
, the then-dominant entity in northern Sumatra. However the Pasai began to collapse under pressure from declining economic conditions and the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
, who occupied much of the area after occupying Malacca in the early 15th century. Sultan
Ali Mughayat Syah
Ali Mughayat Syah (died 7 August 1530) was the first sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra, reigning from about 1514 until his death. Although he was not the first ruler of the Aceh heartland, he is considered the founder of the Aceh Sultanate. His ...
, ruler of the newly founded
Sultanate of Aceh
The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam ( ace, Keurajeuën Acèh Darussalam; Jawoë: كاورجاون اچيه دارالسلام), was a sultanate centered in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a major ...
, aggressively expanded in the area in the 1520s and established sultanate was built on the remains of the Pasai and other extinct kingdoms in the area, and made Banda Aceh the capital, naming it for himself as ''Kutaraja ''or 'City of the King'.
![AMH-6875-KB View of Achin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/AMH-6875-KB_View_of_Achin.jpg)
After a long period of rule by the sultanate, Aceh began to come into conflict with the Dutch and the British in the second half of the 18th century. At the end of the 18th century, the territory of Aceh in the Malay Peninsula, namely
Kedah
Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...
and
Pulau Pinang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Mal ...
, were seized by the British. In 1871, the Dutch began to threaten Aceh, and on 26 March 1873, the Dutch formally declared war on Aceh. The Dutch bombarded the capital in that year and sought to capture the sultan's palace in the city to bring about a capitulation of the Acehnese. Significant support from the British in the region led the modernization and fortification of the city, and while coastal areas were lost the Dutch underestimated the city's defenses. The Dutch expedition commander General
Johan Köhler was killed in a skirmish around the city, leading to the failure of the
first expedition. A second expedition was mounted by the Dutch within months and was successful in overwhelming the city. The Dutch moved into the capital in January 1874 believing the Acehnese to have surrendered; however, the conflict moved into the countryside, and the Acehnese continued to actively oppose Dutch rule.
After it entered the Government of the Republic of Indonesia on 28 December 1962, the name of the city was changed back to Banda Aceh by the Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Autonomy on 9 May 1963. On 26 December 2004, the city
was hit by a
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
caused by a 9.2-magnitude earthquake in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
. The disaster killed 167,000 inhabitants and destroyed more than 60% of the city's buildings. Based on the statistical data issued by the City Government of Banda Aceh, Banda Aceh had 248,727 inhabitants in May 2012, while the Indonesian national census of 2020 showed a population of 252,899.
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.]
Religion
The religion of the majority of the population is
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, with minorities including
Buddhists
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
,
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
(both
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
and
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
), and
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
.
Banda Aceh is home to four long-standing churches: the Hati Kudus Catholic church, Western Indonesian Protestant church (GPIB), Methodist church, and the
Batak Protestant Church (HKBP). There are 93 mosques and 112 musholla (small mosques). There is a Buddhist temple and a Hindu temple in the city.
The
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
community consists of both
Balinese Hindus and
Tamil Hindus
The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...
who originate from India.
There is a type of police in Indonesia called the religious police; they enforce Islamic laws in the Islamic majority province. They are known for being very strict.
Climate
Banda Aceh features a
tropical rainforest climate
A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...
under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
, with near-constant average temperatures. The city's annual average temperature is . However, the city features wetter and drier seasons, with June through August being the driest months of the year. Like other cities with a tropical rainforest climate, Banda Aceh does not have a true
dry season
The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...
, with the driest month averaging of precipitation. On average, the city experiences a little less than of precipitation annually.
Administrative districts
![Kantô Walikota](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Kant%C3%B4_Walikota.JPG)
Banda Aceh is divided into nine
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
( id, kecamatan), listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census
and the 2020 Census,
together with the official estimates as at mid 2021.
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2022.]
Tourism
As the capital of the Aceh province, Banda Aceh is home to many landmarks important to the history of the Acehnese people and the sultanates.
![Kuil Hindu Banda Aceh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Kuil_Hindu_Banda_Aceh.jpg)
* The
Baiturrahman Grand Mosque
Baiturrahman Grand Mosque ( id, Masjid Raya Baiturrahman; Acehnese: ''Meuseujid Raya Baiturrahman'')
is a Mosque located in the center of Banda Aceh city, Aceh Province, Indonesia. The Baiturrahman Grand Mosque is a symbol of religion, culture, ...
was originally built during the sultanate of
Iskandar Muda
Iskandar Muda (1583? – 27 December 1636Yusra Habib Abdul Gani, accessed on 4 January 2007) was the twelfth Sulṭān of Acèh Darussalam, under whom the sultanate achieved its greatest territorial extent, holding sway as the strongest po ...
(1607–1636). It was rebuilt in 1875 after it was burnt down in the Aceh war. It has seven domes and four smaller towers along with the main tower. The mosque can accommodate up to 9,000 people.
*
Gunongan Historical Park
Gunongan Historical Park ( Jawoë: ڬونوڠن) is located in the Aceh Province of Sumatra, Indonesia. Possibly built by Iskandar Muda, the grounds of the historical park contain a 17th Century palace, garden, and white circular structure whos ...
is a private playground and bathing place, built by Sultan
Iskandar Muda
Iskandar Muda (1583? – 27 December 1636Yusra Habib Abdul Gani, accessed on 4 January 2007) was the twelfth Sulṭān of Acèh Darussalam, under whom the sultanate achieved its greatest territorial extent, holding sway as the strongest po ...
, dedicated to his wife Putroe Phang. Gunongan was part of royal garden complex Taman Sari.
* A number of places near the center of Banda Aceh have been established as memorials of the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
on the city. These include several mass burial centers such as the graves at Ulee Lheue, places where boats were carried several kilometers inland by the tsunami (
PLTD Apung 1, or the "Floating Diesel Plant", and the "Floating Boat on the Roof"), and the
Tsunami Museum. The PLTD Apung 1 had been located near the Ule Lheu beach before being shifted close to the city center by the tsunami. It has become one of the most important landmarks in Banda Aceh.
* Dutch Kerkhof Poucut Cemetery is a Dutch military burial ground located near the center of Banda Aceh, next to the tsunami museum. The cemetery name is a combination of ''Kerkhof'' (Dutch for ''churchyard'' or ''graveyard'') and ''poucut'' or ''poteu cut'' (Acehnese for ''prince''). The Kerkhoff Poucut is recorded as the largest Dutch military cemetery outside the Netherlands. There are around 2,200 graves of white Dutch soldiers as well as recruits from Ambon, Manado and Java, and several Dutch generals.
* The
Aceh Museum is one of the oldest museums in Indonesia. The original museum was established almost 100 years ago. After Independence in 1945, the museum became the property of the regional government. In 1969 the museum was moved from the original site at Blang Padang to the current location in Jl Sultan Alaiddin Mahmudsyah. The museum contains a wide range of artefacts relating to the history and cultural life of Aceh.
*
Kuil Palani Andawer is Acheh's oldest and only Hindu Temple
Several festivals are held annually by the city:
* Banda Aceh Festival
* Festival Krueng Aceh Peunayong
* Festival Geulayang Tunang (kite festival)
* Festival Kupi
* Indonesia City Expo
*
Thaipusam
Thaipusam or Thaipoosam (Tamil: தைப்பூசம், ''taippūcam'' ?), is a festival celebrated by the Hindu Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of ''Thai'' (January/February), usually coinciding with Pushya star, kno ...
.
There are three beaches close to Banda Aceh which can be reached by car or motorcycle: Ujông Batèë Beach, Lhôk Nga Beach, and Lam Pu'uk Beach, which is the most developed of the three.
Transportation
Motorized ''
becaks'' are common in Banda Aceh. Transport by taxis and minibuses, known as ''labi-labi'', are also common. Since 2018, some online transportation is also available like
Grab and
Gojek
PT Gojek Indonesia (stylized in all lower case and stylized ''j'' as goȷek, formerly styled as GO-JEK) is an Indonesian on-demand multi-service platform and digital payment technology group based in Jakarta. Gojek was first established in Ind ...
.
Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport is located in Blang Bintang, 13.5 km from Banda Aceh.
Two main highways run from Banda Aceh to the south. One runs down the eastern side of the province through main towns such as
Bireuen and
Lhokseumawe
Lhokseumawe ( id, Kota Lhokseumawe; ace, Lhôk Seumaw‘è, Jawi: ), is the second largest city in Aceh province, Indonesia. The city covers an area of 181.06 square kilometres, and had a population of 171,163 at the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Stati ...
to
Medan
Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four main ...
, the large capital of the province of
North Sumatra
North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and ...
. The other highway runs down the western side of the province, through lesser-populated areas, to the towns of
Calang
Calang ( Jawoë: چالڠ), the capital of the Aceh Jaya Regency of the special territory (''daerah istimewa'') of Aceh was on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It had a population of about 12,000 though it was reported to have ''"vanished comp ...
,
Meulaboh
Meulaboh ( Jawoë: ملابوه; or ''Moulabouh'') is the capital of West Aceh Regency, Indonesia.
Geography
Meulaboh is about 245 km southeast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province. Meulaboh is located in the western part of Sumatr ...
, and Singkil. The main bus station, Terminal Terpadu Batoh, is located at Jalan
Mr. Teuku Muhammad Hasan. Banda Aceh-Sigli Toll Road, part of
Trans-Sumatra Toll Road
Trans-Sumatra Toll Road is an under-construction tolled expressway stretching across Sumatra Island in Indonesia from the northern tip of Banda Aceh to the southern tip of Bakauheni. This toll road was originally planned to connect to the estab ...
, is currently under construction; it is located at the tip of the toll road and connected with Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport.
Banda Aceh has two seaports, Pelabuhan (port)
Ulèë Lheuë
Ulèë Lheuë is an area in Meuraxa sub-district, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. It was the former main seaport of Aceh. The town and seaport was heavily damaged and depopulated during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
Description
Ulèë ...
and Pelabuhan Malahayati. Pelabuhan Ulèë Lheuë was formerly the main sea port in Aceh. It now functions as a ferry terminal. It is located in the Meuraksa area. Pelabuhan Malahayati, the current main sea port, is located in Krueng Raya, 27 km from Banda Aceh. It now functions as the main freight cargo terminal.
Since May 2016, Banda Aceh has had a
bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
system, called ''Trans Koetaradja''. Initially, Trans Koetaradja ran only a single line Keudah –
Darussalam (
vv) (Corridor I), which operates from 06:30–18:36 on Monday-Saturday and 07:20–17:20 on Sunday and Holidays. Since 2017, it has added 2 additional lines: Corridor II-A with route
Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport – Pasar Aceh (
vv) and operates from 08:00–18:20 every day; and Corridor II-B with route Pelabuhan
Ulèë Lheuë
Ulèë Lheuë is an area in Meuraxa sub-district, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. It was the former main seaport of Aceh. The town and seaport was heavily damaged and depopulated during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
Description
Ulèë ...
(Port) – Pasar Aceh (
vv) and operates from 07:00–18:35 every day. From 2016 until 2018, thanks to subsidies from
Aceh
Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...
government, it was a free-of-charge transportation for passengers.
Sport
Sport complex
Lapangan Blang Padang is a multi-use park located in the center of Banda Aceh and has become a location for citizen sports activities for decades. It has jogging track, volleyball court, football pitch, basketball court, and food courts, as well. There is a famous replica of RI 001, the first Indonesian plane, at Lapangan Blang Padang.
Some other sport complexes in Banda Aceh are: Lapangan Neusu, Komplek Harapan Bangsa, Lapangan Gelanggang Unsyiah, and Lapangan Tugu
Indoor sport hall
In Banda Aceh, there are several indoor sport halls (
id: ''Gelanggang Olah Raga'', abbreviated as ''GOR'') which previously hosted as a venue for multiple sports: GOR KONI, GOR Dista, GOR Pango and GOR A. Madjid Ibrahim Unsyiah.
Football
The city has two major football stadiums:
*
Harapan Bangsa Stadium (seating capacity: 45,000)
*
H. Dimurthala Stadium (seating capacity: 20,000), which is the homeground of
Persiraja Banda Aceh
Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Kuta Raja, commonly known as Persiraja, is an Indonesian football club based in Banda Aceh, Aceh. They currently compete in the Liga 2. They play their home matches either at Harapan Bangsa Stadium or H. Dimurt ...
and Kuala Nanggroe F.C.
In addition, there are also several small capacity stadiums in the city, i.e.:
Syiah Kuala University
Syiah Kuala University ( id, Universitas Syiah Kuala), abbreviated as USK (formerly: ''Unsyiah''), founded on 2 September 1961, is the largest and the oldest national university in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The name of the university is taken from t ...
Stadium and Lambhuk Mini Stadium.
Media
![Foto malam hari di Jalan Teuku Nyak Arief, Banda Aceh; 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Foto_malam_hari_di_Jalan_Teuku_Nyak_Arief%2C_Banda_Aceh%3B_2013.jpg)
The oldest newspaper in the Banda Aceh region is ''Serambi Indonesia'', part of
Tribun Network
Tribun Network is a newspaper chain in Indonesia owned by Kompas Gramedia. Currently the group has owned 22 local newspapers, which are spread across 24 cities and regencies in Indonesia, and a national newspaper. Tribun Network also maintain its ...
. Several other newspapers such as ''Harian Aceh'', ''Rakyat Aceh'' and ''ProHaba'' are also available.
The privately owned Kutaraja TV and Aceh TV are the local TV stations based in Banda Aceh. The public
TVRI
TVRI (, Television of the Republic of Indonesia), legally ( Public Broadcasting Institution Television of the Republic of Indonesia) is a public television network and the oldest television network in Indonesia. Its national headquarters is i ...
Aceh is also covered the city, though its studios are located in nearby Aceh Besar.
Sister cities
*
Samarkand
fa, سمرقند
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
, Uzbekistan
*
Sana'a
Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...
, Yemen
*
Martapura, Indonesia
References
Bibliography
* Dallal, Tamalyn
''40 Days & 1001 Nights: One Woman's Dance Through Life in the Islamic World...'' 2007. (book). The first part of the journey through the Islamic world goes through Banda Aceh and describes the everyday life of the people in this part of Indonesia.
External links
*
Official siteBanda Aceh Tourism Official siteAceh.net Visit Aceh: Eco and Islamic Tourism, Cultural Information, Investment and highlights of directory
{{Authority control
Populated places in Aceh
Port cities and towns of the Indian Ocean
Provincial capitals in Indonesia