ULEE LHEUE is the farthest village in the city of Banda Aceh. Surrounded by the sea from the three cardinal directions, colonial rule in Aceh started from this village. It began in March, 26, 1873, when the Kingdom of the Netherlands declared war with the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam from its warship anchored off the coast of Ulee Lheue after arriving from Batavia (now Jakarta).
This was the first village that was bombarded by the Dutch colonial at that time. The action that later sacrificed tens of thousands of Acehnese people, but also almost bankrupted the Dutch colonials because the war to conquer Aceh as a whole received great resistance, inexhaustible, until the 1940s.
Now Ulee Lheue keeps its history in the usual coastal village which always looks cheerful with its beautiful beaches, the sea converging at the estuary and then the river--a place where fishermen moor their boats. Yesterday afternoon I took the time to go to Ulee Lheue, photographing the landscape from several angles and of course I share the results here.
