Word: tourisme
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Pity the poor tourism officials of Aceh. Their job - promoting the beaches, jungles and rich culture of an unspoiled and underexplored Indonesian province - should be easy. But just as Aceh recovered from a decades-long civil war and a devastating tsunami, along came the Wilayatul Hisbah (vice and virtue patrol) to enforce Shari'a, or Islamic law. Its officers have raided unisex beauty salons, harassed women without headscarves and publicly caned gamblers and drinkers...
...province is often called the "Veranda of Mecca." Banda Aceh's tallest building is one of the minarets of the black-domed Grand Mosque, and the city still moves to the rhythms of five daily prayers. A campaign is now under way to promote it as "Indonesia's Islamic tourism city...
...might work, although Banda Aceh's tragic history remains more of a draw. Unlike Phuket, where the tsunami also struck, Aceh is not simply repairing a tourism infrastructure. It is building one from scratch and tsunami tours are proving popular - particularly in the domestic market. A fifth of Banda Aceh's population was wiped out on Dec. 26, 2004. Today, any trip to the city is incomplete without a visit to a ship heaved a mile inland and stranded amid the houses. On its top deck I meet Tisul Himat, 43, a trader from an island on Aceh's west...
...protests are the latest in a years-running to-and-fro between the groups. In 2008, the yellows occupied Government House, the nation's seat of power, for three months. Later they hijacked Bangkok's two airports for a week, a disaster for a tourism-dependent economy. Last year, after a yellow-supported government took office, the reds swarmed an international summit at a seaside resort, forcing the emergency airlift of foreign leaders. That was followed by a scarlet siege of Government House, a takeover that culminated in Thailand's worst political violence in nearly two decades...
...most foreigners. Riot police and journalists were among the few nonblacks who ventured into these sprawling settlements. These days, high crime levels mean that they are still off-limits - for the unescorted. But, in the company of experienced guides, the townships are tourist attractions, and their inhabitants are discovering tourism's benefits. World Cup visitors should certainly consider taking time to explore these impoverished but vibrant communities...