Sri Aman
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Sri Aman is a town, and the capital of the Sri Aman District (2323.7 square kilometers) in Sri Aman Division, Sarawak, east Malaysia. The district population (year 2000 census) was 66,500, with an ethnic composition of 62.2% Iban, 22.4% Malay, 14.1% Chinese, and 0.6% Bidayuh.
Sri Aman is also called Bandar Sri Aman（斯里阿曼）, and was formerly known as Simanggang（成邦江）. A market town and port on the Lupar River （鲁巴河）about halfway between Kuching and Sarikei, it is situated in one of the few major agricultural areas of Sarawak. It is a trade center for timber, oil palm, rubber, and pepper.
Sri Aman is famous for its Benak or tidal bore. The tidal bore comes in from the river mouth and roils and churns and fills up the river very rapidly in the course of about 10 minutes. The wave crest is typically from 2 to 3 meters high. This is one of the few places in the world where this phenomenon happens on such a large scale. There is a timetable at the river which has the time and dates for when the tidal bore will occur, but the really big ones occur only a couple of times a year. The author Somerset Maugham almost lost his life at Simanggang during one of these tidal bores, and commemorated the event in his short story Yellow Streak.
Sri Aman is also a gateway for tourists to the Batang Ai National Park, and cultural tours to the Iban longhouses along the rivers.
[edit] Fort Alice
After defeating the last of the major Iban chieftains, Rentap, in 1861, Rajah Charles Brooke built Fort Alice in 1864 as a defensive structure controlling the Lupar River. It was built entirely of ‘belian’ (ironwood) timber with thick walls to withstand attacks. All of the original structure remains mostly intact, but in extremely dilapidated and run down condition. It is sadly in need of restoration work. s
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