Ambon Map
Ambon has an airport, and is home to the state-own Pattimura University, a state university, and the Indonesian Christian University of Maluku (UKIM), a private Protestant university, though both were seriously damaged during the violence in 2000-2002.
History
Ambon was colonized by Portugal in 1526. The Portuguese were driven out by the Dutch in 1609. Except for brief periods of British rule, the island remained under Dutch control until Indonesia’s independence in 1945.
During the Dutch period, Ambon was the seat of the Dutch resident and military commander of the Moluccas. The town was protected by Fort Victoria, and a 1911 encyclopedia characterized it as “a clean little town with wide streets, well planted”. The population was divided into two classes, orang burger (citizens) and orang negri (villagers), the former being a class of native origin enjoying certain privileges conferred on their ancestors by the old Dutch East India Company. There were also, besides the Dutch, some Arabs, Chinese and a few Portuguese settlers.
Ambon Island was the site of a major Dutch naval base, captured by the Japanese in 1942. Ambon was a center of Christian missionary activity, and Ambon and the surrounding islands have many Christians as well as the Muslims that predominate in most of Indonesia.
In 1950, Ambon was the center of an uprising against Indonesian rule, caused by the rebellion of Republic of the South Moluccas. Indonesia reasserted control just in few weeks.
Religious riots
Inter-communal violence between Christians and Muslims ignited in January 1999 after a fight between a Christian bus driver and a Muslim youth broke out on January 19th. Parts of Ambon city were destroyed, including parts of Pattimura University. Violence escalated as the army became involved, and when the Islamist Laskar Jihad joined the fighting. Although there had been no serious incidents prior to 1999, tensions had been simmering between Christians and Muslims the populations of which are roughly equally proportioned.
The problems were exacerbated by the inability of police and army to keep control. With endemic corruption, sectarian splits and mistrust between the religious groups, both the police and army were accused of joining the violence, and taking sides according to religion and, the area they came from as well. Soldiers of the Indonesian army, many of whom were from Java and Ujung Pandang (in Sulawesi, home of the Buginese, the ethnicity of most Muslims in Ambon), were seen by Ambonese Christians as pro-Muslim. Christians criticized the military for being inert toward or even supportive of the Laskar Jihad attacks. Meanwhile, the Muslims accused the local police of favouring Christians.
Fighting has erupted sporadically since 1999, and many Ambonese have been displaced by the violence. The violence decreased in late 2002, and, aside from a spate of bombings in April 2004, as of January 2005, the city is relatively peaceful. The radical Islamist group Laskar Jihad, which drew members from Java, was heavily involved in the violence, and later sent fighters to other parts of Indonesia, especially to Western New Guinea.
Outsiders are discouraged from visiting the area, and the city of Ambon is still partially segregated along religious lines. However, since the peace accord, people from both faiths have seen increasing interaction through trade. Multi-faith schools are re-appearing.
Places of Interest:
Ambon
Ambon, the provincial capital of Maluku, is built on a hillside overlooking the bay. It has a number of interesting historical and cultural sites, among the remnants of forts built the Dutch East Indies Company during the heyday of the spice trade. The ruins of the Pourtuguese fort at Hila are almost entirely hidden beneath the contorted roots of a giant Ba¬nyan tree. The ANZAC War Cemetery near Ambon town is the site of serviced held every year on April 25, to commemorate the Allied soldiers who died in region during World War II. The museum Siwa Lima has a fine collection of local arts and crafts. Ambon is at the Maluku end of the annual yacht race between Darwin, Australia and Ambon. The race usually takes place in July and August.
Beaches and Coral Reefs
Beaches and Coral Reefs. Good beaches with coral reefs just off shore are found around Hunimoa, Latuhalat, and Namalatu beaches on Ambon. Namalatu has the nicest beach and a hike to Latuhalat will take you some excellent escluded coves.
Namalatu Beach
Namalatu Beach Looks out over the Banda sea on the South coast of Ambon in the village Latuhalat some 15 km away from town Ambon. Namalatu has a strip of a white sand and coral beach and crystal clear unpolluted water. The scenery is beautiful and attractive it is an ideal place for sunbathing, swim, snorkel and scuba diving.
Additional facilities Namalatu beach offers are shelter, open air stage for dance and music performances and also “rujak” (mixed fruit salad with peanut sauce), fresh young coconut peddlers and on prior request people can serve you with barbequed fish and lobster.
Pintu Kota (the gate of the city)
Pintu Kota (the gate of the city) Lies between the villages Airlow and seri on the south coast of Ambon island. A huge rock stretching out to the sea with a hole at its bottom which looks like a gate where through it we can see the coast line and the Banda sea. It is an ideal place for snorkeling and diving.
Latuhalat Village
Latuhalat Village is the main center of bricks production. The sub-village Waemahu is also well-known for the production of clove miniature boats handicraft.
Banda
The Banda group, about 132 kilometers southeast of Ambon, consist of three lar¬ger islands and seven smaller ones, perched on the rim of Indonesia’s deepest sea, the Banda Sea. Near Manuk Island the water reaches a depth of more than 6,500 meters. Gunung Api Islands is an active volcano, the last major eruption occured only a few years ago.
The seas around Banda are the site of famous Maluku sea gardens with their fantasy-land coral reefs and kaleidoscopic array of multi-colored fish darting through the crystal clear water. Pulau Karaka, Pulau Pisang and Pulai Ai are particularly well-known for their amazing snorkeling and diving. Facilities for sightseeing, snorkeling and skin diving as well clean, comfortable cottages are available on some islands.
Banda was home to some of the bloodiest episodes of Maluku’s history. In 1609 the Dutch East Indies Company dispatched a new governoor-general to the islands to obtain the contested spice trade monopoly at any cost. Confronted by superior power, the people of Banda were forced to allow the company to establish a fort, but in the same year Go¬vernoor Verhoeff was killed, together with 45 of his men. The company retailed, but peace was not restored. In 1619, V.O.C. Governor-General Jan Pieterszoon Coen arrived at the head of penal expedition and exterminated the entire population of Banda.
The land was divided into lots, called “perken”, and given to former company employees, the “perkiniers”, who were obliged to grow nutmeg and sell them at predetermined prices to the company. Slaves did the actual work in the fields. The old “perkinier houses” , or what is left of them, an old churches still retain a peculiar colonial character to the port town of Bandaneira today. Two old forts Belgica and Nassau are inside the town limits. Others are found elsewhere on the islands. See also the former Dutch Governor’s mansion, the Museum of History in Neira, and the huge nutmeg plantation nearby.
Accomodation and information are most readily available on the ’heavily populated’ south coast. The north coast boasts some of the best snorkeling in all of Maluku at Asele, one hour east of Wahai.
Seram Island
Seram Island The second-largest island in Maluku, Seram is virtually untouched because of its wild, rugged interior. Seram receives a lot of rain throughout the year, and is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Trekking in the Manusela National Park is about as far offs the beaten track as you can get in Indonesia; the park receives fewer visitors than Baliem Valley in Papua.
