From Pekan Saree down to Sumatra's east coast...

This should be the 363 rd article in this blogspot. Continued from The journey to Pekan Saree, a hillside small town of Aceh...

After coffee, it's time to leave Pekan Saree...

The winding journey eastwards took us down the slopes of Mount Seulewah Agam...

I can't remember what the gates stand for. After all I'm writing here directly using whatever little memory I could still retain and retrieve on the spot from a journey made more than 2 months ago. Anyway, I do believe we are entering another district of Aceh.


Soon we could see the lands down the slopes...



This means we are getting nearer the flatlands of the east coast, the east coast of the island of Sumatra that is.




Journey can be slow at times with obstacles such as this...

And this is 'compounded' by little stops made such as at this place to buy bananas and other fruits.

Anyway we are soon out of the slopes...

From here, the land is rather flat for miles on...

OK. I really can't remember the name of the places we went through neither could I find the words to describe every picture. After all, if I count right, I have allocated 30 pictures for this article. So let the pictures tell it's own story ya. After all they said a picture paints a thousand words or so. I'll only fill in when I feel like it ya...

Entering the town of Sigli if I'm not mistaken...

Hmm... a mosque using original Malay architecture with three-tiered roof...

This should speak for itself...

Oh. I remember this. We stopped on the roadside because Kak Ann wanted some sirih or betel leaves. Apparently she likes to chew...

The journey continues...

OK. At this juncture we are facing a range of mountains which have something very interesting near the top. I'm told that behind the summits seen in the horizon lies the vast freshwater lake known as Danau Laut Tawar along with a city called Takengon, its surface at more than 4,000 feet above sea level. Do have a look at the aerial pictures shown in the article The flight to Aceh...

The flat parts consist mainly of padi or rice fields...

Here, we are leaving the district of Pidie and entering another called Pidie Jaya. Actually it used to be one district before broken into two...

The town called Meureudu. Or is it considered a city albeit a small one?

Here we are going along the outer parts of the main range...

Soon we are approaching the sea, or rather the straits of Melaka... meaning we have arrived at the coastal part, the east coast of Sumatra.

Hmm. If I remember correctly, this place is in PadangTiji...

Then I saw this interesting mosque. I just have to ask the convoy to stop so I could take some pictures. I will put it in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART)...

The journey to Pekan Saree, a hillside small town of Aceh...

Greetings all. I guess I have been procrastinating long enough regarding the Aceh stories. So here we are, continuing from the last Aceh story, Catching the sunset over the Indian Ocean at Lampuuk... made almost two weeks ago!

This one starts on my third day in Aceh, Wednesday 17th June 2009. The destination in mind is the tomb of the ancient ruler, Sultan Malikus Salih in Geudong, some 300 km or so south-east of Banda Aceh. After sometime waiting at the hotel for our host Kak Ann to start making the move, we left sometime after 3 pm. Above is the main stadium of Banda Aceh as we head out of the city.

This is the main range of Bukit Barisan which could be seen from the city. The road we used at this point is the same main road we used to get to Indrapuri and then Tanoh Abee. Look at the articles Aceh rural views around Indrapuri and On to Tanoh Abee... so what exists over there?

Oh. This time me and wife went in the same car as Kak Ann, a bulky Landcruiser...

There, a nice view of the mountain Seulewah. Don't be fooled by the small size seen from this point. The mountain is about 5,500 feet tall...

Miles later, a better view of Seulawah...




We soon started taking some uphill bends...





While we are already more than 40 km away from Banda Aceh, the mountain Seulawah still looms far away...

On this side of the horizon lies the further parts of the mountain range Bukit Barisan...

We zoomed pass some villages...

Soon, we began to climb towards the slopes of Seulawah. Some parts of roads are rough. So we stopped for a minute to adjust the Landcruiser's suspension system. Pretty nifty this car as the body practically rises a few inches higher off the wheels to better take more shock while maintaining smooth driving... good for my then 6-months pregnant wife.

We went higher uphill passing corner after corner...

At this point, I believe we should already be more than 1,000 feet above sea level.

I can't remember where this is at. It looks like some sort of nature park...

Meanwhile, another car in our little convoy follows behind, the Toyota Innova which has been used to ferry me and wife across Banda Aceh and around for the previous 2 days...

This part looks cooler with plenty of pine trees.

Ah. After an hour of driving or so, I believe we are entering the hillside town of Pekan Saree..

From this angle it might look like a dead cowboy town...

But from other angles, this little town situated some 1,500 feet or more above sea level at the slopes of Seulawah does have the flavour of a mountain resort town.

Anyway, we stopped here for a brief rest and a good cup of coffee. To be continued...

Islam recognises freedom of religion

I have promised myself that after finishing a series of postings/articles in my blogspots on the activities and places visited on Tuesday 16th June 2009 in Aceh I would make another voluntary translation from the website http://www.shiar-islam.com/. Thank God, the article next on the list to be translated is very short. At least I've kept my promise. So here it is, before I can proceed with the following stories on Aceh... the activities and places visited on Wednesday.

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ISLAM RECOGNISES FREEDOM OF RELIGION

By Ustaz Syed Hasan Alatas
http://www.shiar-islam.com

Translation by Radzi Sapiee

Although it is a duty for all Muslims to call mankind to the path of Allah, the true path, they are forbidden from forcing others to embrace Islam. Allah said in the Quran: “There is no compulsion in religion: verily the right way is now distinct from the wrong way.” (The verses of al-Baqarah: 256)

Allah s.w.t. calls out to humankind and its diverse races and religions to get to know each other. For Allah also said in the Quran: “O people, we created you from the same male and female, and rendered you distinct peoples and tribes, that you may recognize one another. The best among you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous. Allah is Omniscient, Cognizant.” (al-Hujurat : 13).

What is the relationship between Taming Sari and my family?

Another intermission...

I'll bet that all Malay readers or those who knows a bit of Malay history and folklore have heard about the magical kris or Malay wavy blade known as Taming Sari. Tonight, I've just found Wikipedia's take on the matter which includes an information I have no idea has ever existed before. Now, I know that Wikipedia is open to suggestions if not meddlings from anybody who wish to put information, or rather their ideas or own version of 'information' making it susceptible to propagandas by parties with vested interest. But at least for prosperity's sake, let me copy and paste it here lock stock and barrel.

It happens that I am a fifth generation direct descendant of Laksamana Muhammad Amin. Do have a look at the old articles The return of Admiral Muhammad Amin's remains to the royal mausoleum of Perak and In Perak's royal mausoleum to give justice to Laksamana Raja Mahkota Muhammad Amin . Below is the article on Taming Sari in Wikipedia (refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taming_Sari) . Let me highlight the sentences which have astounded me. For the record, this is the 360th article or posting in this blogspot. This reminds me of the 360 degrees in a circle, a full turn or so...

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The Keris Taming Sari is a very famous keris in Malay culture. It is the Malay equivalent of King Arthur's "Excalibur" and was supposedly owned by the legendary Malay warrior Hang Tuah. It is said to possess magical powers. The keris was a prize from the Javanese kingdom of Majapahit to Hang Tuah after he won a fight with a warrior named Taming Sari. The keris derives its name from the original owner.

According to legend, Hang Tuah, in the end, gave this Keris to Tun Mamat to be returned to Sultan Mahmud Shah 1488-1511 when he failed to bring back the Princess from Gunung Ledang. The Sultan had sent him there to bring the mythical Princess back to Malacca to be his queen. Hang Tuah then disappeared and was never seen or heard of again. Another version of the legend has it that Hang Tuah had thrown the keris into the river, saying that he would return when the keris re-appeared. This has led some to believe that the real Taming Sari has disappeared, like the legend of the sword Excalibur.

It is unique in that it is made of twenty-one different types of metal- supposedly metal leftover from the forging of the bolts of the holy Ka'aba. It was said that Taming Sari could do Hang Tuah's fighting for him - if Hang Tuah was menaced or in any danger, the keris would leap out of its sheath, fly through the air and attack the assailant. The whole of the sampir and batang are covered in gold leaf. The keris is classified as a keris gabus or keris terapang.

The kris still exists today and is part of the royal regalia of Sultan Azlan Shah, the Sultan of Perak, Malaysia.

Before the Taming Sari became part of the Perak Royalty's regalia, it is believed to have been a hereditary article of the family of the Laksamana (Navy Admiral) who for generations, through succession, ruled as the territorial chief of Hilir Perak.

It is believed that the last territorial chief who had the famed keris in his possession was Laksamana Mohd Amin Alang Duakap. In 1876, he was arrested alongside many other rich aristocrats of his time for the alleged involvement in the murder of the first British Resident, James W.W. Birch. Together with Datuk Shahbandar Uda Kediti (the territorial chief of Kerian), Sultan Abdullah (the reigning Perak monarch of the time) and Menteri Paduka Ngah Ibrahim (the famous administrator of tin-rich Larut), Laksamana Mohd Amin was banished to the Seychelles.

After that, the British administration in Perak seized the properties of the territorial chiefs involved and these included the Taming Sari. However, the Sultan Yussuf, who succeeded the banished Sultan Abdullah, persuaded the British not to take the keris away to England[citation needed] and managed to gain possession of the keris.

However,historians believe that the real Taming Sari is still missing similar to the legend of Excalibur.

A spontaneous poem from 1995... something on my innermost being I guess..

Intermission...

Last night I slept at a family house in Kajang. While shifting through some of my old books, I found a whole set of poem (if you can call it such) which I have spontaneously scribbled on a Real Analysis (a branch of mathematics) university textbook. Now, I finished study at the University College of London sometime in June 1995 and returned to Malaysia sometime in October. The date scribbled under the poem on the other hand shows it was written in November, so I don't know what holds or what is the relation. Never mind, tonight I feel like sharing it in this blogspot. So here goes...

What is real eh?
Just the idiot’s fantasy
Dreaming of the gleaming spirals of wealth
Glittering testimony to the activities of life
Come the thunder
Rip the fabrics asunder
Lo behold...
Light of truth cleaves
The veils of deception
But what care I the wonderer
I choose to sit between the breast of the Giver
What care I if the moon drops
And sun bloated turns lifeless
For the milk of bounty
Never stops to those
Who rest in His grace

Radzi 7/11/95