๐ฑ๐ฐ Galle is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the south-western tip, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District.
Galle was known as Gimhathiththa before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, when it was the main port on the island. Ibn Batuta, a Moroccan Berber Muslim traveller in the 14th century, referred to it as Qali. Galle reached the height of its development in the 18th century, during the Dutch colonial period. Galle is the best example of a fortified city built by the Portuguese in South and Southeast Asia, showing the interaction between Portuguese architectural styles and native traditions. The city was extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649 onwards. The Galle fort is a World Heritage Site and is the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers.
Other prominent landmarks in Galle include the city's natural harbour, the National Maritime Museum, St. Mary's Cathedral founded by Jesuit priests, one of the main Shiva temples on the island, and Amangalla, the historic luxury hotel. On 26 December 2004, the city was devastated by the massive tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which occurred off the coast of Indonesia a thousand miles away. Thousands were killed in the city alone. Galle is home to the Galle International Stadium, which is considered to be one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world. The ground, which was severely damaged by the tsunami, was rebuilt and test matches resumed there on 18 December 2007.
Important natural geographical features in Galle include Rumassala in Unawatuna, a large mound-like hill that forms the eastern protective barrier to Galle Harbour. Local tradition associates this hill with some events of Ramayana, one of the great Hindu epics. The major river in the area is the Gin Ganga, which begins from Gongala Kanda, passes villages such as Neluwa, Nagoda, Baddegama, Thelikada and Wakwella, and reaches the sea at Gintota. The river is bridged at Wakwella by the Wakwella Bridge.
1Etymology Galle was known as Gimhathitha in ancient times. The term is believed to be derived from the classical Sinhalese term meaning "port near the River Gin". It is believed that the town got its name as Gaalla in the native tongue as a result of the large number of bullock carts that took shelter in the area, following the long slow journeys from remote areas of the island. Gaala in Sinhala means the place where cattle are herded together; hence the Sinhalese name for Galle, เถเทเถฝเทเถฝ, is a development from Gaala. Another theory is that the word Galle is derived from the Latin word gallus or the Portuguese word galo, which mean 'rooster'. The Dutch used the rooster as a symbol of Galle.
1History According to James Emerson Tennent, Galle was the ancient seaport of Tarshish, from which King Solomon drew ivory, peacocks and other valuables. Cinnamon was exported from Sri Lanka as early as 1400 BC, and as the root of the word itself is Hebrew, Galle may have been a main entrepรดt for the spice.
Ancient Greek and Roman geographers may have known about Galle, which they might have called the Cape of Birds. Ptolemy might also have known about the port which he referred to as Odoka. Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta visited Galle (or Qali as he called it) in 1342. During the 12th and 13th centuries, Sinhalese refugees fleeing Tamil armies from the north began to settle in Galle and other nearby areas.
Galle had been a prominent seaport long before western rule in the country: Persians, Arabs, Greeks, Romans, Malays, Indians, and Chinese were doing business through Galle's port. In 1411, the Galle Trilingual Inscription, a stone tablet inscription in three languages, Chinese, Tamil and Persian, was erected in Galle to commemorate the second visit to Ceylon by the Chinese admiral Zheng He. In 1502, a small fleet of Portuguese ships, under the command of Lourenรงo de Almeida on their way to the Maldives, were blown off course by a storm. Realising that the King resided in Kotte close to Colombo, Lourenรงo proceeded there after a brief stop in Galle.
In 1640, the Portuguese were forced to surrender to the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch built the present fort in 1663. They built a fortified solid granite wall and three bastions, known as "Sun", "Moon" and "Star".
After the British took over the country from the Dutch in 1796, they preserved the fort unchanged and used it as the administrative centre of the district.
1Galle was ranked #288 by the Nomad List which evaluates and ranks remote work hubs by cost, internet, fun and safety. Galle has a population of over 93,118 people. Galle also forms the centre of the wider Southern Province which has a population of over 2,464,732 people.
To set up a UBI Lab for Galle see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork
Twin Towns, Sister Cities Galle has links with:
๐จ๐ณ Haikou, China ๐ณ๐ฑ IJmuiden, Netherlands ๐ฆ๐บ Melbourne, Australia ๐ณ๐ฑ Velsen, Netherlands ๐จ๐ณ Wuhan, China๐ฒ๐พ Kubang Kerian 6.083
๐ต๐ญ General Santos 6.114
๐ฒ๐พ Alor Setar 6.117
๐ฑ๐ฐ Hambantota 6.124
๐ฒ๐พ Kota Bharu 6.135
๐ฎ๐ณ West Kanpur 80.332
Locations Near: Galle 80.2206,6.0402
๐ฑ๐ฐ Matara 80.535,5.949 d: 36.3
๐ฑ๐ฐ Kalutara 79.965,6.579 d: 66.3
๐ฑ๐ฐ Sabaragamuwa 80.4,6.667 d: 72.4
๐ฑ๐ฐ Ratnapura 80.386,6.693 d: 74.9
๐ฑ๐ฐ Panadura 79.9,6.7 d: 81.5
๐ฑ๐ฐ Moratuwa 79.867,6.783 d: 91.4
๐ฑ๐ฐ Homagama 80.003,6.843 d: 92.5
๐ฑ๐ฐ Maharagama 79.917,6.833 d: 94.4
๐ฑ๐ฐ Piliyandala 79.95,6.85 d: 94.9
Antipodal to: Galle -99.779,-6.04
๐ต๐ช Talara -81.267,-4.567 d: 17959
๐ต๐ช Paita -81.1,-5.083 d: 17945.2
๐ต๐ช Mรกncora -81.05,-4.1 d: 17929.6
๐บ๐ธ Sterling Heights -83.001,2.544 d: 17921.7
๐ต๐ช Sechura -80.817,-5.55 d: 17916.7
๐ต๐ช Piura -80.633,-5.2 d: 17894.4
๐ช๐จ Salinas -80.968,-2.207 d: 17886.2
๐ช๐จ La Libertad -80.9,-2.233 d: 17879.3
๐ช๐จ Santa Elena -80.858,-2.227 d: 17874.6