Get in
One of the best things about Galle is getting there. The drive from Colombo to Galle along the beach is very pleasing. Don't forget to stop at the famous "Monis Bakery" on your way there.
See
Do
Sleep
Galle has quite a few small boutique hotels and more seem to be cropping up post-tsunami. Within the Galle Fort there is Amangalla (within the renovated Oriental Hotel) and the Galle Fort Hotel. On the outskirts of Galle there is the Sun House.
On the road into Galle from Colombo there is the Bawa designed Lighthouse Resort.
Budget
Further south you can find many cheap guest houses in Unawatuna and surounding.
Mid range
Splurge
Get out
An around the world sailboat rally (30 boats in 2007) stops in Galle. The rally sails west to the country of Djibouti on the African Continent. Generally, from January to March boats sail in the direction of the Suez Canal. It would be a fun way to "Get Out".
Galle (ගාල්ල in Sinhala; காலி in Tamil) (pronounced as one syllable, rhyming with "Gaul" in English, in Sinhalese, IPA ) 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.
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 matches 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.
Demographics
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 descend from Arab traders that established the ancient port of Galle.
External links
