Information AboutGalle |
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| cities and towns in sri lanka | |
| world heritage sites in sri lanka | |
| port cities and towns in sri lanka | |
For the French Artist , see Émile Gallé . Galle (ගාල්ල in Sinhala ; காலி in Tamil ) (pronounced as one syllable, rhyming with "Gaul" in English or "Ga Le" pronounced as two syllables in Sinhala) is a town situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka , 116 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. Galle lies in Galle District . On 26 December , 2004 the city was devastated by 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. The Galle Fort is a world heritage site and the largest remaining Fortress in Asia built by European invaders. Other prominent Landmarks in Galle include the St. Mary's Cathedral founded by Jesuit Priests . Galle is the main town in the most southerly part of the island, with a population of around 100,000, and is connected by rail to Colombo and Matara . It is home to a Cricket ground, the Galle International Stadium , where Test Match es are played. Rumassala Kanda is a large mound-like hill, which forms the eastern protective barrier to the Galle harbour. Local tradition associates this hill with some events of the Ramayana . HISTORY 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. UNIVERSITIES
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