Aceh Besar Regency is a regency (kabupaten) of Aceh

Aceh

Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...

 province, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. The regency covers an area of 2686 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 225,948 people. The regency is located at the northwest tip of Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

 island and it covers an area including the provincial capital of Banda Aceh

Banda Aceh

Banda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, with an elevation of 35 meters. The city regency covers an area of 64 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 219,070 people...

. The seat of the regency government is Jantho

Jantho

Jantho is a small city in Aceh province of Indonesia. Jantho is the seat of local government for the Aceh Besar Regency.Jantho became famous by a report, where a woman was public whipped according to sharia law [1][2].- References :...

. The regency is divided more into 22 subdistricts

Subdistricts of Indonesia

In Indonesia, a kecamatan or district is a subdivision of a regency or of a city . A district is itself divided into kelurahan or administrative villages....

 (kecamatan).

Economy

Aceh Besar Regency produces clove

Clove

Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world...

s, nutmeg

Nutmeg

The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...

 and palm oil

Palm oil

Palm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil palm and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the...

 and rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

, and also small quantities of maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, cassava

Cassava

Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...

, sweet potato

Sweet potato

The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...

es and bean

Bean

Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....

s.

Museums

Aceh Besar Regency contains several museums. The Museum dan Rumoh Aceh is the State Museum, located in Banda Aceh

Banda Aceh

Banda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, with an elevation of 35 meters. The city regency covers an area of 64 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 219,070 people...

. The museum's main building is built in the style of a traditional Acehnese house. It was installed by Dutch Governor Van Swart in 1915. Museum Ali Hasymi contains the personal collection of Ali Hasymi, a former governor of Aceh and artist and include books by the scholars of Acehnese past, ancient ceramics, the typical weapons of Aceh, souvenirs from all over the world, etc. Museum Cut Nyak Dhien was originally the home of the heroine Cut Nyak Dhien

Cut Nyak Dhien

Cut Nyak Dhien or Tjoet Nja' Dhien was the widow of Teuku Umar. She led guerrilla actions against the Dutch after the death of her husband. She fought against the Dutch for 25 years...

.
The ancient Abee Tanoh Library, located at the foot of Mount Seulawa contains some important manuscripts.

Places of worship

Indra Puri Old Mosque is located about 20 km south of Medan

Medan

- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....

. Indra Puri was a Hindu kingdom and it was a place of worship before Islam arrived. Later, Sultan Iskandar Muda

Iskandar Muda

Iskandar Muda was the twelfth Sultan of Aceh, under whom the sultanate achieved its greatest territorial extent, and was the strongest power and wealthiest state in the western Indonesian archipelago and the Strait of Malacca. "Iskandar Muda" literally means "young Alexander," and his conquests...

 introduced Islam to the public. After the people embraced Islam, the previous temple was converted into a mosque. The mosque site covers an area of 33,875 m², and is located approximately 150 meters from the edge of Krueng Aceh River.

Fortress and tombs

Indra Patra Fortress is situated 19 km from Banda Aceh at Krueng Raya. According to history it was built under the Indra Puri Hindu kingdom, although some say that the fort was built during the Sultanate of Aceh Darussalam in an effort to resist the Portuguese. The fort had a very important function at the time of Sultan Iskandar Muda.

The Tomb of Admiral Malahayati is located about 32 km from the city of Banda Aceh.

Administrative divisions

The regency is divided administratively into 22 subdistricts

Subdistricts of Indonesia

In Indonesia, a kecamatan or district is a subdivision of a regency or of a city . A district is itself divided into kelurahan or administrative villages....

 (kecamatan):

• Baitussalam (13 villages)
• Blang Bintang
• Darul Imarah (32 villages)
• Darul Kamal (14 villages)
• Darussalam (29 villages)
• Indrapuri (52 villages)
• Ingin Jaya (55 villages)
• Kota Jantho (12 villages)
• Krueng Barona Jaya (12 villages)
• Kuta Baro (52 villages)
• Kuta Cot Glie (32 villages)
• Kuta Malaka (15 villages)

• Lembah Seulawah (12 villages)
• Leupung (6 villages)
• Lho'nga (25 villages)
• Lhoong (28 villages)
• Mesjid Raya (13 villages)
• Montasik (53 villages)
• Peukan Bada (26 villages)
• Pulo Aceh (17 villages)
• Seulimeum (41 villages)
• Simpang Tiga (18 villages)
• Suka Makmur (35 villages)