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Colombo
City
Situated in the west coast of Sri Lanka, Colombo has
been the capitol of Sri Lanka since the time of the British
occupation. Even thought the seat of government has been
moved to Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, Colombo still reigns
as the commercial capitol of this island nation.
The city of Colombo started as a settlement by the Portuguese,
who occupied the coastal areas of the country since 1505.
They built the fort to defend one of their key trading
posts. Sri Lanka had bountiful resources which the made
the Portuguese coffers grow and it was in their best
interest to defend it. Later the Dutch colonist drove
away the Portuguese and captured the area, which in turn
lost it to the British. The credit for developing Colombo
as a commercial hub goes to the British. They developed
the harbor and made it their main port of call. Produce
from plantations from all over the country, of which
the main commodity was tea, was bought to Colombo and
shipped to Britain. Trading brought in a huge economic
boom to the country and the city of Colombo flourished.
The British built many buildings, some of which are still
standing and in use today. Today Colombo is a modern
developing city with many skyscrapers reaching to the
sky. They stand tall and proud as a testament to Sri
Lanka's growing economy.
The city center of Pettah is a bustle of activity 24
hours a day. This is mainly because of the market place,
known as the Manning Market. Produce from all over the
country are bought to Pettah throughout day and night.
Buyers and sellers meet and haggle over the prices and
finally they are again distributed to other areas. Public
transportation in terms of busses and trains start from
Pettah to all parts of the island and both the railway
station and the main bus depot are situated in the center
of the city close together making Pettah the transportation
hub of Colombo.
If you are looking for accommodation in Colombo, there
are many star class hotels in and around the city. The
Ceylon Continental, The Taj Samudra, The Colombo Hilton,
Cinnamon Grand, The grand Oriental Hotel are just some
of them. The most famous and oldest of all of them is
the Galle Face Hotel, which has over 150 years of history
behind it.
Colombo offers many attractions for it's visitors and
one that should be everyone's itinerary is the National
Museum of Colombo. It houses a vast collections of artifacts
that weaves the history of Sri Lanka. It is like a journey
through time that will help you learn and understand
Sri Lanka, it's people and it's culture. In addition
there are many art galleries dotted around the city for
the art coinsurer. They showcase some of the best examples
of art and crafts by contemporary Sri Lankan artists.
For thespians there are many theater where you can savor
the very best of Sri Lankan drama.
For bargain hunters, Colombo is a shopper's paradise.
Since garments are a major export oriented industry,
you can find all kinds of clothing items at very cheap
rates. There are many shopping malls and department stores
where shopper's can spend the day and indulge themselves.
The party really starts to swing after the sun goes down.
All the major hotels have modern night clubs with live
bands and DJ's mixing the latest grooves for you to dance
and party the night away.
This modern metropolis offers many attractions to satisfy
different tastes of tourist visiting Sri Lanka.
Economy of Sri Lanka
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