Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest and India in the northwest.
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka and the largest city, Colombo is the administrative and judicial capital which is the nation’s political, financial and cultural centre. Kandy is the second-largest urban area and also the capital of the last native kingdom of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has a population of approximately 22 million and is home to several cultures, languages and ethnicities. The Sinhalese people form the majority of the population, followed by the Sri Lankan Tamils, who are the largest minority group and are concentrated in northern Sri Lanka; both groups have played an influential role in the island’s history. Other long-established groups include the Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers, Malays, Chinese, and Vedda.
These beautiful photos were taken by
Wilford Peloquin that show street scenes of Sri Lanka in 1983.
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Matara, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Adisham near Haputale, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Colombo. Dehiwala Zoo, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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CTB bus at Ohira, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Galle Fort, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Galle, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Galle. New Orient Hotel, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Haputale, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Horton Plains, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Kandy, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Kandy, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Kandy. Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Negombo, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Nuwaraeliya, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Nuwaraeliya. Hill Club, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Nuwaraeliya. Hill Club, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Ohiya Station, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Tissamaharama. Boy riding elephant, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Train to Nuwaraeliya, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
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Yala monkeys, Sri Lanka, 1983 |
This is how Sri Lanka looked during my visit just a few years later. My stay at the New Orient Hotel in Galle introduced me to amazing indifference or ignorance of hospitality management. The worn, sway-backed coconut fibre mattress on my bed may have been original to the building when it was occupied by Queen Victoria's army. The bath boasted a single hand towel that was so old and mildewed I tore it with the lightest touch (only a fool would have used it). There was history, but the hotel was a dump.
ReplyDeleteOn the positive side, things were cheap and the beaches fantastic. Life was cheap as well. When I rode the train to Columbo I saw many people walking on paths next to the rail tracks. That didn't concern the local passengers who drank from coconuts and blithely tossed them out the windows once they were empty.
It looks like not much has changed. Except instead of buffaloes they drive around Matara in tuk-tuk.
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