Sri Lanka Day 93

Colombo, Sir Lanka is situated on the west coast of the island, just south of the Kelani River, Colombo is a principal port on the Indian Ocean. It has one of the largest artificial harbours in the world and handles the majority of Sri Lanka’s foreign trade.
The earliest written mention of the port may be that of Faxian, a Chinese traveler of the 5th century CE who referred to the port as Gaolanbu. The Sinhalese called the port Kolamba, which the Portuguese thought was derived from the Sinhalese word for mango trees (kola, “leaves,” and amba, “mango”). A more likely explanation is that kolamba was an old Sinhalese word meaning “port” or “ferry.”Read more