The visitors to Galle since 1406 including Chinese Admiral Cheng He, Arabian traveler Ibn Battuta and subsequently by many others during the last five centuries took the fame of Galle far and wide. The port of Galle situated in a strategic central location straddling the sea lanes of the Indian Ocean was a sanctuary for all who called at it. Galle, then gained reputation not as a city with intense density of inhabitants but also as a rare meeting point of the trans-oceanic monsoon systems providing a gateway to hinterland rich in tropical products and ancient crafts and in short was an emporium of exquisites. The fort site is a rocky promontory selected by the Portuguese in the third decade of the 16th century to construct a Fortress for their defense.
After about little over a century, in 1640 they were chased out by the Dutch and possessed it for another one and a half century. The power changed hands again to the British in 1796. They too left in 1948 allowing independent Sri Lanka to administer it. Thus the built environment of Galle resembles multicultural features of all four nations, craftsmanship, solidness and the best preservation encouraged the UNESCO to declare it a World Heritage Site in 1988. This documentary gives you a comprehensive pictorial account covering all about Galle.
Duration : 46 Minutes Language : English / Sinhala
