The Veranda of Mecca — Aceh coffee, mie goreng, and tsunami resilience
Banda Aceh is the capital of Aceh province and Indonesia's most devoutly Islamic city — sharia law applies here, the coffee culture is extraordinary (Aceh's single-origin beans are among the world's best), and the food is fiery and distinct: mie Aceh noodles stewed in a thick spiced broth are a national obsession. The city was almost entirely destroyed by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, and the Tsunami Museum is the most powerful memorial to that disaster anywhere in the Indian Ocean.
The Sultanate of Aceh was one of Southeast Asia's most powerful Islamic kingdoms from the 16th century, controlling the Strait of Malacca and trading directly with Mecca — earning Aceh its title 'Veranda of Mecca' as Islam's entry point to the archipelago. The Dutch spent 40 years fighting the Aceh War (1873-1914), the longest colonial war in Dutch history, before finally subduing the province. Aceh fought for special autonomy for decades after Indonesian independence, a conflict resolved by peace agreement in 2005 — one year after the tsunami that killed over 160,000 people in the province.