Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam ( Aceh )

Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam ( Aceh ) is a province of indonesia. Aceh is located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra adn is the most western province in Indonesia. The capital is Banda Aceh. The population of the province is about 4,500,000 inhabitants. It is close to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India and is separated by the Andaman Sea. Aceh is bordered by the By of Bengal to the north, the Indian Ocean to the west, the Malacca Strait in the southeast and south.

Aceh is regarded a the starting place for the spread of Islam in Indonesia and plays an important role in the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Sultanante of ACeh was the richest, strongest, and most rosperous state in the Strait of Malacca. Aceh's history is colored by political freedom and strong resistance to the control of foreigners, includding former Dutch colonialists and the Indonesian government. When compared with other provinces, Aceh is a very conservative region (opholding religious values). The percentage of Muslim population is the highhest in Indonesia and they live according to islamic sharia. Unlike most other provinces in Indonesia, Aceh has its own autonomy regulated for historical reasons.

Aceh has abundant natural resources, includding petroleum and natural gas. Some analysts estimate Aceh's natural gas reserves are the largest in the world. Aceh is also famous for its forests located along Bukit Barisan rangen from Kutacane in southeast Aceh to Ulu Masen in Aceh Jaya. A national park called Gunung Leuser National Par (TNGL) was established in Southeast Aceh.

Aceh is the land closest to the epicenter of 20014 Indian Ocean eartsquake. After the earthauake, tsunami wave hit most of the province's weast coast. Abouet 170,000 people were killed or lost by the disaster. This disaster also encouraged the creation of a peace agreement between the government of the Republic On Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).