The capital of Sri Lanka is the city of Colombo, as well as its political and economic capital and the largest in terms of area compared to the size of the rest of the cities, which is one of the cities located in the south of Asia. It was talked about by Ibn Battuta al-Rahalah, known in the fourteenth century AD, and it represents the largest main port in Sri Lanka.
It was frequented by many Chinese travelers in the fifteenth century AD under what is known as (Cao_lan_bo) and its local people called it (Colamba) which is the same name that the Portuguese people took when they occupied it derived from the manga tree. The Dutch occupied it in 1658 AD then the British In (1796 AD), except that it gained its independence in (1984 AD), the Arab travelers in the following article provided information about the city of Colombo.
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Information about the city of Colombo
- The city of Colombo was known from ancient times by merchants, and Muslims stayed there in the eighth century AD because of its economic importance for the existence of a great port in it and by the sixteenth century the Portuguese arrived and they expelled the Muslims and built castles in order to protect their trade and this was led by (Dom Lorenco Almeida) .
- The Portuguese made a treaty with the King of Cot, who enabled them to trade in spices, as well as granting them authority on the coastline in exchange for guarding the coast from the attacks of the invaders, and allowed them to establish a commercial center in Colombo.
- The Portuguese set a goal in front of them in total control of Sri Lanka to protect their institutions on the coasts of India and began to manipulate them over the rulers of the Kingdom of Cot in order to achieve this and they actually succeeded in it.
Where is Colombo located on the map
- It is located in the Indian Ocean in the north, and it is one of the cities of the Asian continent to the south in Sri Lanka, on the western coast of the island (Sri Jayawardenapura Koti). It is bordered to the north by the city (Negombo), to the south by (Martwa) and (Negigoda), and from the northeast, there is a city (Gampaha) and the eastern side there is (Malabai), where about eight hundred thousand people live on an area equivalent to thirty-seven square kilometers.
Economy of the city of Colombo
Colombo is the main center of trade in Sri Lanka and in the following paragraph we will talk about the extent of economic diversification in it:
- It depends mainly on its industries on glass and chemical materials, cement and textiles, furniture, leather products and jewelry, and it has a total of (twin towers) consisting of forty floors, which is an important and main commercial center for the entire country.
- Colombia produces about forty eight billion dollars of the country’s gross domestic income annually, equivalent to forty percent of the gross domestic product.
- The Colombo metro area produces about (8623) annually, forgotten per capita of the country, as the purchasing power per capita reached (25117) approximately, thus it is considered the most prosperous area in South Asia.
Tourism in Colombo
- One of the most important tourist areas in the city of Colombo, the National Museum, was built in the nineteenth century AD.
- Lavinia’s beaches have fine sand, clear waters and scenic surroundings.
- The Natural Museum, which was established in (1986 AD) includes many of Sri Lanka’s monuments and historical monuments and includes a collection of the rarest plants, and the structures of extinct animals and other endangered animals such as amphibians, fish, reptiles and insects.
As for the demographics of its people, it includes different races and nationalities, where (Sinhalese) occupies the vast majority of the population by (41.36%) of its total residents, and (28.91%) of Sri Lankan Tamils, Indian Tamils by (2.17%), and Moors (23.87%) ), The Malays (1.73%), and the Chinese community (2.4%), and this shows us the extent of difference and mixing between the nationalities living in that Sri Lankan tourist city and developed economy.
