Makassar 照片檔

An aerial view of Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is the largest city on Sulawesi Island in terms of population, and the fifth largest city in Indonesia. The city is located on the southwest coast of the island of Sulawesi, facing the Makassar Strait.The metro area has a population of over 2 million inhabitants. The trade in spices figured prominently in the history of Sulawesi, which involved frequent struggles between rival native and foreign powers for control of the lucrative trade during the pre-colonial and colonial period, when spices from the region were in high demand in the West. Much of South Sulawesi's early history was written in old texts that can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries. Makassar is also a major fishing center in Sulawesi. One of its major industries is the trepang (sea-cucumber) industry. Trepang fishing brought the Makassan people into contact with Indigenous Australian peoples of northern Australia, long before European settlement (from 1788).