“Sri Lanka – The Wonder of Asia” By Romulo “Romy” M. Halasan, BSBA’86
S
ri Lanka is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean off the coast of South India in South Asia.
Before 1972 it was called Ceylon. It has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the
Maldives to the southwest. The island contains tropical forests and diverse landscapes with a high
amount of biodiversity.
According to Forbes Magazine, Sri Lanka is one of the top 10 coolest places to visit in 2015. The ‘Teardrop
Isle’ has a great deal to offer travelers – from stunning coastline and beaches to the lush green highlands of
the interior, ancient cultures, and delicious cuisine.
Sri Lanka was known to travelers by a variety of names: India called it Lanka or Sinhala, Greek geographers
called it Taprobane, Arabs referred to it as Serendib (the origin of the word "serendipity"), and the
Portuguese when they arrived in 1505 called it Ceilão. But the name Ceylon still appear in many
organizations. It was also the first Asian country known to have a female ruler: Queen Anula, who reigned
during 47–42 BC.
In the past Sri Lankan monarchs undertook some remarkable construction projects such as Sigiriya, the socalled "Fortress in the Sky". The Sigiriya Rock Fortress is surrounded by an extensive network of ramparts
and moats. Inside this protective enclosure were gardens, ponds, pavilions, palaces, and other structures.
On top of this rock is a palace with a swimming pool. At the lower end of the rock is a well with drinking
water said never to run dry. The 1,600-year-old Sigiriya frescoes are an example of ancient Sri Lankan art at
its finest. It is one of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning in the world. It has been
declared by UNESCO as one of the seven World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka and is the most visited historic
attraction in Sri Lanka. Among other structures, large reservoirs, important for conserving water in a
climate with rainy and dry seasons, and elaborate aqueducts, some with a slope as finely calibrated as one
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