Fort railway station is a major rail hub in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The station
is served by Sri Lanka Railways, with many inter-city and commuter
trains entering each day. Fort Station is the main rail gateway to central
Colombo; it is the terminus of most intercity trains in the country. Fort
Station was opened in 1917, as a new central station for Colombo. This has
been constructed similar to Manchester Victoria station. The station was
built on land reclaimed from the Beira Lake.
Maradana Railway Station is a major rail hub in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The
station is served by Sri Lanka Railways, with many inter-city and commuter
trains entering each day. It is the terminus of several intercity trains. When
the railways first opened in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1864, trains terminated at
Colombo Terminus Station, a now-retired station near Maradana. In 1906,
a project was launched to reorganise the railway within the Colombo area.
Colombo Terminus Station was closed and replaced by the new Maradana
Station.
Negombo Fort was a small but important fort in Negombo,
approx. 30 km (19 mile) north of Colombo, that was built by
the Portuguese to defend Colombo. The fort was located on a
narrow strip of land between a lagoon and an inlet of the sea.
It was surrounded by a dry moat, and the gate was accessed
via a drawbridge. The original Portuguese fort was a weak
structure, which was captured by Dutch forces commanded
by Philip Lucasz, in February 1640. The Portuguese made
several attempts to retake it before they were successful in
December 1640. They then strengthened the fortifications and
managed to defend the fort until it was recaptured by the
Dutch, commanded by Francois Caron, in January 1644. The
original bastions were destroyed by the Dutch cannons during
the siege of the fort. The Dutch subsequently rebuilt it in 1672
however not on the usual square pattern, but on a pentagonal
one, though it had only four bulwarks, the fifth was never
constructed (possibly due to the cost).
Pettah Market
Pettah is a neighbourhood in Colombo, Sri Lanka located east
of the Fort area. The Pettah neighborhood is famous for the
Pettah Market, a series of open air bazaars and markets. It is
Sri Lanka’s busiest commercial area, where most of the shops,
textiles, buildings and many other business organisations are
centered. Pettah is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic area.