From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Poso is the main port and transportation hub for the northeastern coast of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Its geographical location is 1°24′S, 120°45′E.

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 (Tentena, a Christian stronghold that many Christian former Poso residents fled to during fighting).

Poso is one of ten regencies in Central Sulawesi 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 the province.

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, religions 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.

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.

• 2005 Poso beheadings

• Inside Indonesia: Waiting for peace in Poso
• Inside Indonesia: Profiting from displacement
• Inside Indonesia: Alleged Al Qaeda training in Poso
• Time Magazine: Indonesia's Dirty Little Holy War also [1]
• BBC - Newsnight: Poso