Mannar ( ta, மன்னார், translit=Maṉṉār, si, මන්නාරම, translit=Mannārama, formerly spelled Manar) is the main town of
Mannar District,
Northern Province, Sri Lanka
The Northern Province ( ta, வட மாகாணம் ''Vaṭa Mākāṇam''; si, උතුරු පළාත ''Uturu Paḷāta'') is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The province ...
. It is governed by an
Urban Council. The town is located on
Mannar Island overlooking the
Gulf of Mannar and is home to the historic
Ketheeswaram temple. In the
Tamil language, Mannar means the ''raised place
f sand
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
' which is though to have come from the geology of Mannar Island which was formed by the accumulation of sand.
History
Formerly the town was renowned as a centre of
pearl fishing, mentioned in the 2nd-century CE
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
Mannar is known for its
baobab
''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Tropic ...
trees and for its fort, built by the
Portuguese in 1560 and taken by the
Dutch in 1658 and rebuilt; its ramparts and bastions are intact, though the interior is largely destroyed.
Visually, the modern town is dominated by its churches, Hindu temples and mosques.
[Edward Aves, ''Sri Lanka'' (Footprint Travel Guides, 2003: ), p. 337.] The
Catholic Church has a
diocese headquartered in the town. By rail the town is connected to the rest of Sri Lanka by the
Mannar Line
The Mannar line is a railway line in Sri Lanka. Branching off the northern line at Medawachchiya Junction, the line heads north-west through North Central and Northern provinces before terminating at the town of Talaimannar. The line is long ...
. It was occupied by
LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
during
Sri Lankan Civil War between 1983 and 2009.
See also
*
Manthai
Manthai ( ta, மாந்தை, translit=Māntai) is a coastal town and an ancient harbor situated in the Mannar district, of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Manthai functioned as the main port of the Anuradhapura Kingdom throughout its hist ...
*
Talaimannar
Talaimannar ( ta, தலைமன்னார்; si, තලෙයිමන්නාරම) is a settlement in Sri Lanka located on the northwestern coast of Mannar Island.
Transport
Sri Lanka's northern railway line was destroyed, disrupted o ...
References
External links
Information on Mannar (Tamil)Official Mannar.com (Tamil)
Towns in Mannar District
Mannar DS Division
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