Forsila Kubra (Forum Silaturrahmi Kopi beurawe) : Love in a cup of coffee

This place really unique, you can found all about love in this place. Coffee is coffee, love is love, but how you can get love in a cup of coffee? The answer is Kubra (another name of Forsila Kubra), this entire place is about love actually, the place, the people, the atmosphere, the coffee, everything!!! Everything you found is love.

Unique? Why this place is unique, because this place open at 06:00 AM – 18:00 PM. This place never opens at night, because this place is traditional coffee shop. For the snack is traditional snack like, Timphan, Banana, Boeh Rom-Rom, Beuleukat. And for the interior is traditional interior. Everything is original style. That why this place is unique. Because of this, the warmness of Acehnese love found here.

In this place the people are come from any part of society. You can found the atmosphere is really religious since this is the only coffee shop that opens at 06:00 AM. As the result, many of costumers are the people who were come back from mosque. So, that’s why this place really religious at that time. At 08:00 AM until 10:00 AM the atmosphere change. It is dominated to civil servants and students. And for 10 AM until this place closed the atmosphere is mixed, there are civil servants, students, freelancers, and businessman, even the executive-governments going to be one with smile and love. The uniform is only the uniform, it doesn’t matter who you are here, you looks same in this place. This place is warmness place ever. All of you know in this place is love.

Everything what I write above is nothing without coffee; coffee is the only tool that could make that atmosphere exists. You can not found the better coffee than Kubra’s coffee in Banda Aceh, the smell, the taste, the color is perfect. When you looking it, the coffee is like talking to you “drink me now!!!”. When you drink it you can not stop smile you know, it delicious. You can found what is life just in a cup, the bitter of the coffee is like telling you how bitter life is. But, in that bitter you also found a little sweet and telling you “even your life is really bad you can found the side of goodness in your life.”

The place of the coffee shop is really in the strategic place in Banda Aceh, you can easily find the place. This place is located in the middle of Banda Aceh city. In exact, it is located behind of Hermes Mall. Normally, this place opens at 06:00 AM until 18:00 PM. But, in weekend it is just open at 06:00 until 12:00 PM. For the price it is less than Rp.10.000.

PUTROE PHANG : THE UNAPPRECIATED PRINCESS

Her real name is Princess Kalimah, but most of Acehnese know her as Putroe Phang or Putroe Pahang. Empress of Sultan Iskandar Muda has important role on make some rules and norms of Acehnese people life.

“ Adat bak Po Meureuhom, Hukom bak Syah Kuala, Qanun bak Putroe Phang, Reusam bak Bentara.”

It feels like, almost no one Acehnese do not know about this proverb. Its mean is; adat (Culture) based on Po Meureuhom, Hukom (Law) based on Syah Kuala, Qanun (Discussion between Government and Citizen), Reusam is laws, habituality, and rules which was decided by Keuchik (the head of village), and agreed by Tuha Peut.

The reason whys the Qanun created base on Putroe Phang agreement is because, in ancient life Putroe Phang known as a smart and high intelligence women. It proven by the story between a boy and a girl who debate because of the heritage that’s was given by their parents. In one day, have some case between a boy and a girl who have heritage house and a patch of rice field. From the division of the heritage is the man except the house and the women got a patch of rice field. The women do not want it. Because of it, this case audible to Putroe Phang. Because of that, Putroe Phang make some decisions. Putroe Phang decide the man got a patch of rice field and the women got the house. According to Putroe Phang, the man can sleep in Meunasah (Worship Place) but the women can not do that. Because the man stronger than the women, so the field is given to the man for work on.

This decision has excepted by all member of empire, including Sultan Iskandar Muda. Until now, in several district in Aceh the heritage to give the house to the women preserved.

Come from Pahang Empire, Malaysia, Putroe Phang was married by Sultan Iskandar Muda when he conquered Semenanjung Malaka in 17 century, the golden years of Sultan Iskandar Muda.

The marriage Sultan Iskandar Muda and Putroe Phang awarded two kids : Meurah Pupok and Puteri Sari Alam.

Besides assertive character, Sultan Iskandar Muda apparently have romantic personality. Lets check out a replaying latter to Queen Elizabeth 1 like cited by French Historian Denys Lombard on his book Kerajaan Aceh: Zaman Sultan Iskandar Muda (1607-1636). “Hambalah sang penguasa perkara negeri-negeri di bawah angin, yang terhimpun di atas tanah Aceh dan atas tahah Sumatera dan atas seluruh wilayah-wilayah yang tunduk kepada Aceh, yang terbentang dari ufuk matahari terbit hingga matahari terbenam.”

But unfortunately, we do not found any love latter Iskandar Muda to Putroe Phang. But to proving his love to Putroe Phang, Sultan Iskandar Muda build Gunongan and Pinto Khop as bathing place and also for chat with Putroe Phang.

By Gunongan its self we know how important Putroe Phang for Sultan Iskandar Muda and for the story of Putroe Phang role we know how important her for the culture in Aceh its self.

Is that possible the Putroe Phang forget to set the rules to respect historical place? Or we have forgot it?