ゴールの古代オランダの砦の古い門

イギリスによるゴールの征服後に設置された、イギリス国王ジョージ 3 世の時代に遡るアイルランド王家の紋章が刻まれた銘板が、ビーチ (バラダクシャ マワサ) と平行に走る道路沿いにある要塞に入る途中で旧門の上に見られます。 )。この銘板には、右側からはライオンが、左側からはユニコーンが保持しているイギリスの王冠が表示されています。英国皇帝の標語 (Dieu et Mon Droit) は「神と私の領域」を意味し、銘板の短冊に記されています。ライオンとユニコーンが持つ盾は、「悪魔を考える者は悪魔に取り憑かれる」を意味する「Honi Soit QuiMal y Pense」という引用で囲まれています。

これらの引用は両方ともフランス語のことわざからの抜粋です。西暦 1796 年にイギリス人がゴール要塞を征服した後、ここにあったオランダ東インド会社 (VOC) の紋章を取り除き、イギリス王室の紋章を彫刻しました。

About Galle District

Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo.Galle is the best example of a fortified city built by Europeans in south and Southeast Asia, showing the interaction between European architectural styles and south Asian traditions. The Galle fort is a world heritage site and the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers.

Galle is a sizeable town, by Sri Lankan standards, and has a population of 91,000, the majority of whom are of Sinhalese ethnicity. There is also a large Sri Lankan Moor minority, particularly in the fort area, which descend from Arab merchants that settled in the ancient port of Galle.

About Southern Province

The Southern Province of Sri Lanka is a small geographic area consisting of the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota. Subsistence farming and fishing is the main source of income for the vast majority of the people of this region.

Important landmarks of the Southern Province include the wildlife sanctuaries of the Yala and Udawalawe National Parks, the holy city of Kataragama, and the ancient cities of Tissamaharama, Kirinda and Galle. (Although Galle is an ancient city, almost nothing survives from before the Portuguese invasion.) During the Portuguese period there were two famous Sinhalese poets called Andare who was from Dickwella and Gajaman Nona who was from Denipitiya in Matara District, composing poems on common man.