Poso
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Poso is the main port and transportation hub for the northeastern coast of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Its geographical location is Template:Coor dm.
Heavily damaged in sporadic ethnic/religious conflict over several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the town is currently almost exclusively controlled by Muslim forces (cf Tentena, a Christian stronghold that many Christian former Poso residents fled to during fighting).
Poso is one of ten kabupaten in Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah) Province, located exactly in the middle of the Province on the shore of Tomini Bay, right in the central part of Sulawesi island, and is the main port and transportation hub for the northeastern coast of Sulawesi. It is not to be confused with Lake Poso, which is some distance inland. With the total of population about more than 200,000, Poso is one of the biggest and the oldest towns in central Sulawesi.
Being in the middle, Poso has been a stopover either from the north to the south or from west to the east of Sulawesi. It is for this reason, the population of Poso consists of many different ethnics, religons and backgrounds. People living in Poso arrived from the coastal area to the mountainous region, causing their main source of income to be farming and fishing.
On October 29, 2005 three school girls were found beheaded near Poso. The girls, students at Central Sulawesi Christian Church, were killed by six unidentified assailants while on their way to class. The murders occurred days before the start of the Muslim holiday of Idul Fitri — the end of Ramadan. "The perpetrators wore black attire and veils and they used machetes according to Indonesian National Police spokesman Aryanto Budiharjo. The victims were identified as Yarni Sambue (15), Theresia Morangke (16), and Alfita Poliwo (17). Police obtained the descriptions of events and the attackers from a survivor, Noviana Malewa (15), who suffered wounds to her face and is in intensive care. The murdered girls are all cousins of Noviana Malewa, who has not been told of their deaths. The girls' bodies were found at the scene of the attack — near a cocoa plantation — and their heads were found at separate locations; one near a church.
Tourism and culture
Poso can be reached by plane from Palu or by bus from many other big cities on Sulawesi, and is situated on the equator. It features tropical rain forest, seashore gardens and other natural scenery.
Modero is a well known traditional dance which is performed during celebration of rice harvesting (Padungku), usually in the evenings.