Sri
Lanka / Geography
The country
known to have many names, Lanka or Ilankai to the Sinhalese and
the Tamils, Taprobane to the ancient Romans, Serendib to the Muslim
traders of past centuries, Ceilão as christened by the
Portuguese, Ceylan by the Dutch followed by Ceylon as it was called
under the British, and finally Sri (meaning 'auspicious') Lanka,
as what it is known today.
Sun bronzed
beaches, green paddy fields, breathtaking mountains, tropical
forests, ancient ruins, an amazing diversity of flora and fauna,
near desert regions and a fascinating tapestry of culture, customs
and religion - all of this in a packed of teardrop shaped bundle
below the Indian subcontinent in the Indian Ocean.
Ayubowan,
as they say in Sri Lanka with a gentle bow of the head and hands
folded together - 'greetings', 'hello', 'good morning', 'welcome',
'how are you', 'may you have a long life', and even 'goodbye'
- a small word with so many meanings, describing perfectly the
atoll which Marco Polo procrlaimed as the finest island of in
this side of the world.
The teardrop
shaped island of Sri Lanka is positioned on the world map just
off the southern end of India in the northern Indian Ocean. It
lies between 50 55’ and 90 55 North of the equator and between
790 42 and 810 52’ east of the Prime Meridian. The total area
is 65,610 sq km, a size roughly the same as Ireland or Tasmania
with a maximum length of 445 km and breadth of 225.3 km.
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