SRI LANKA HOTLINE
Tel: +94 11 522 00 00
Fax: +94 11 522 00 30
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Galle Hotel of the Month  |
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GALLE INFORMATION
Pronounced as one syllable in English: the same as "Gaul", and in Sinhalese is a town situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle was known as Gimhathiththa (although Ibn Batuta in the 14th century refers to it as Qali) before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, when it was the main port on the island. Galle reached the height of its development in the 18th century, before the arrival of the British, who developed the harbor at Colombo.The Major river is Gin River (Gin Ganga) which start from Gongala Kanda and passing villages such as Neluwa,Nagoda,Baddegama,Thelikada,Wakwella and Kiss the sea at Ginthota.In Wakwella over the River there is Wakwella Bridge which is the longest Bridge in Galle Distrcit.
On 26 December 2004 the city was devastated bys the massive Boxing Day Tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake that occurred a thousand miles away, off the coast of Indonesia. Thousands were killed in the city alone.
Galle is the best example of a fortified city built by Europeans in south and southeast Asia, showing the interaction between European architectural styles and south Asian traditions. Galle fort is a world heritage site and the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers. Other prominent landmarks in Galle include St. Mary's Cathedral founded by Jesuit priests, one of the main Shiva temples on the island, and The Amangalla, a historic luxury hotel.
According to James Emerson Tennent, Galle was the ancient seaport of Tarshish, from which King Solomon drew ivory, peacocks and other valuables. Certainly, cinnamon was exported from Sri Lanka as early as 1400 BC and the root of the word itself is Hebrew, so Galle may have been the main entrepot for the spice.
Galle had been a prominent seaport long before western rule in the country. Persians, Arabs, Greeks, Romans, Malays and Indians were doing business through Galle port. The "modern" history of Galle starts in 1505, when the first Portuguese ship, under Lourenço de Almeida was driven there by a storm. However, the people of the city refused to let the Portuguese enter it, so the Portuguese took it by force.
In 1640, the Portuguese had to surrender to the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch built the present Fort in the year 1663. They built a fortified wall, using solid granite, and built three bastions, known as "sun", "moon" and "star".
After the British took over the country from the Dutch in the year 1796, they preserved the Fort unchanged, and used it as the administrative centre of Galle.
Galle is sizeable town, by Sri Lankan standards, and has a population of 90,934, the majority of whom are of Sinhalese ethnicity; there is a large Sri Lankan Moor minority who are the descendants of the Arab traders that established the ancient port of Galle.
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Alphabetical Listing of Hotels in Galle |
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