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Matara, Sri Lanka
Matara (; ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, on the southern coast of Southern Province, Sri Lanka, Southern Province. It is the second largest city in Southern Province, Sri Lanka, Southern Province. It is from Colombo. It is a major commercial hub, the administrative capital and largest city of Matara District. Ethnic composition in Matara DS Division according to 2012 census data is Sinhalese 111,039-95.88%, Muslims 4,296-3.71%, Tamils 326-0.28%, Others 144-0.12%. Etymology Consisting of two elements, the term Matara gives its meaning as ''the Great Ferry'', that may be the meaning "great seaport" or "great fortress". It is also thought as being derived from the mispronunciation of the word 'Matora' by the Portuguese who called it 'Mature' or ''Maturai'' in 1672. The native word 'Matora' might also derived from 'Maha Tera' meaning the place where the Great River was crossed. It was also called 'Maha Tota' (Malo Tota) or Maha-Pattana, the great ferry.''Maha Ethara'' meani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Sovereign States
The following is a list providing an overview of sovereign states around the world with information on their status and recognition of their sovereignty. The 205 listed states can be divided into three categories based on membership within the United Nations System: 193 member states of the United Nations, UN member states, two United Nations General Assembly observers#Current non-member observers, UN General Assembly non-member observer states, and ten other states. The ''sovereignty dispute'' column indicates states having undisputed sovereignty (188 states, of which there are 187 UN member states and one UN General Assembly non-member observer state), states having disputed sovereignty (15 states, of which there are six UN member states, one UN General Assembly non-member observer state, and eight de facto states), and states having a political status of the Cook Islands and Niue, special political status (two states, both in associated state, free association with New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruhuna
The Principality of Ruhuna ( Sinhala: , ), also referred to as the Kingdom of Ruhuna, is a region of present-day Southern and Eastern Sri Lanka. It was the center of a flourishing civilisation and the cultural and economic centres of ancient Sri Lanka. Magama, Tissamaharama and Mahanagakula (now called as Ambalantota) were established here. The kingdom of Ruhuna was an important state in Sinhalese history as it was known for several rebellions against the superior states in Rajarata. The principality was defeated with its last de facto Queen Sugala been captured and executed by the invading army of Parakramabahu I. Following its annexing by Parakramabahu, the rebellions that arose were suppressed. Name Following the arrival of Princess Buddhakachchana, six of her brothers came to Sri Lanka and settled in different parts of the island. One of the brothers, Rohana, settled in the area between Kumbukkan Oya and Deeghawapi. His settlement was named Rohana. History Founding ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dutch Ceylon
Dutch Ceylon (; ) was a governorate established in present-day Sri Lanka by the Dutch East India Company. Although the Dutch managed to capture most of the coastal areas in Sri Lanka, they were never able to control the Kingdom of Kandy located in the interior of the island. Dutch Ceylon existed from 1640 until 1796. In the early 17th century, Sri Lanka was partly ruled by the Portuguese and partly by Sri Lankan ( primarily of Sinhalese origin) kingdoms, who were constantly battling the Portuguese. Although the Portuguese were not winning the war, their rule was oppressive to the people of those areas controlled by them. While the Portuguese were engaged in a long war of independence from Spanish rule, the Sinhalese king (the king of Kandy) invited the Dutch to help defeat the Portuguese. The Dutch interest in Ceylon was to have a united battle front against the Iberians at that time. History Background The Portuguese The Dutch were invited by the Sinhalese to help fig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matara Fort
The Matara Fort ( ''Mathara Balakotuwa''; ) was built in 1560 by the Portuguese and was substantially re-built by the Dutch in 1640, following the capture of Galle. The fort, which consists of a large stone rampart, occupies the promontory, which separates the Niwala Ganga (River) lagoon and the ocean. History The Portuguese constructed the first fortifications in 1595, with the assistance of Don Juan Dharmapala, the ruler of the Kingdom of Kotte. In 1640 the Dutch captured Matara from the Portuguese, and in 1645 they were responsible for the construction of the current fortifications. The fort consists of a long, thick, high rampart and the gateway constructed from local limestone, granite and coral. The rampart originally had a ditch in front of it, two half bastion projections at each end and a larger projection in the centre close to the gate with a bridge across the ditch. It was built to protect the administrative buildings of VOC (Dutch East India Company), who were a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dondra Head
Dondra (, ) is a settlement on the extreme southernmost tip of Sri Lanka, in the Indian Ocean near Matara, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. The Dondra Head Lighthouse, ruins of several Hindu shrines of Tenavaram and a Vihara (Buddhist temple) are located in the vicinity. Etymology King Nissankamalla's (1187-1196 A.D.) Dambulla Vihara rock inscription is considered the oldest document that mentions the name Devi-nuwara which means the "City of Gods". The Pali form of the name, Deva-nagara appears for the first time in the Mahavamsa with reference to the reign of King Vijayabahu I (1058-1114 A.D.).The Buddhist Vishnu: Religious Transformation, Politics, and Culture By John C. Holt, pp. 5, 67-87, 97-100, 113, 257, 343, 413 (Columbia University Press) The name Dondra is the anglic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dondra Head Lighthouse
Dondra Head Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Dondra Head, Dondra, the southernmost point in Sri Lanka and is Sri Lanka's tallest lighthouse, and also one of the tallest in South East Asia. Dondra Head lighthouse is operated and maintained by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. The lighthouse is near the village of Dondra, and is approximately southeast of Matara. The name Dondra is a synonym for "Devi-Nuwara" in the local Sinhala language, "Devi" meaning "Gods" and "Nuwara" meaning "City". Dondra is therefore derived to mean "City of the Gods". History Dondra Head Lighthouse was designed by Sir James Nicholas Douglass, with construction, by William Douglass of the Imperial Lighthouse Service, commencing in November 1887. All the building materials including the bricks and steel were imported from England. The granite rock was supplied from quarries at Dalbeattie in Scotland and Penryn in Cornwall. The lighthouse was completed and commissioned in March 1890. The combin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kandyan Kingdom
The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom of the Kingdom of Kotte, Kandy gradually established itself as an independent force during the tumultuous 16th and 17th centuries, allying at various times with the Jaffna Kingdom, the Madurai Nayak dynasty of South India, Sitawaka Kingdom, and the Dutch colonizers to ensure its survival. Throughout the 16th century, numerous battles were fought with the Portuguese and later the Dutch, and from the 1590s, Kandy became the sole independent native polity on the island of Sri Lanka and through a combination of hit-and-run tactics and diplomacy kept European colonial forces at bay in the central highlands, before finally falling under British colonial rule in 1818. The kingdom was absorbed into the British Empire as a protectorate following the Kan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walawe River
The Walawe (, ) is a long river in Sri Lanka which originates on Adam's Peak. It discharges into the Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ... at the coastal town of Ambalantota. See also * List of rivers of Sri Lanka References {{SriLanka-river-stub Rivers of Sri Lanka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kotte
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (), also known as Jayapura or Kotte, is Capital of Sri Lanka, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is located adjacent to the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic, executive, and judicial capital, Colombo. The Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Municipal Council area is bounded in: * the North by Kolonnawa Urban Council area, * the North-East by the Kotikawatta–Mulleriyawa Pradeshiya Sabha area, * the East by the Kaduwela, Western Province, Kaduwela Municipal Council area, * the South-East by the Maharagama Urban Council area, * the South-West by the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council and * the West by the Colombo Municipal Council area, which is the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. History The village of Darugama lay at the confluence of two streams, the Diyawanna Oya and the Kolonnawa Oya. As Darugama was a naturally secure place, it was not easy for enemies to enter it. Here, in the 13th century, a local ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
