Trincomalee
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Trincomalee (Tricounamale in Sinhala; திருகோணமலை in Tamil) is a port city on the northeast coast of Sri Lanka, about 110 miles northeast of Kandy. The town is built on a bold peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbors. The Bay of Trincomalee is landlocked; the harbor is renowned for its extent and security; unlike every other in the Indian Sea, it is accessible to every description of craft in every variation of weather, but it lies out of the course of trade, Colombo Port having in this respect a great advantage over it.
The long and wide beaches here offer surfing, scuba diving and fishing and whale watching. This sea town is home to the Thirukonesvaram Kovil, which is one of the oldest Hindu temples in Sri Lanka. The town also has the largest Dutch fortress of Sri Lanka. Home to the Sri Lankan naval base & Sri Lankan Air Force base. The town is claimed by the LTTE as the capital of Tamil Eelam.
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History
Trincomalee is a natural deep-water harbor that attracted great sea farers like Marco Polo, Ptolemy and Sea Traders China and East Asia from the ancient times. Trinco as it is commonly called, has been a sea port since the days of the ancient Kings and one of the British Empire's most important ports in Asia during the second world war. From 1941-45, Trinco had been the headquarters of Lord Louis Mountbatten Allied Southeast Asia commander.
The Thirukonesvaram temple [1] attracted pilgrims from all parts of India. This celebrated shrine was demolished in 1622 by the Portuguese (who called it the Temple of a Thousand Columns), who fortified the heights with the materials derived from its destruction. It was next held by the Dutch, and subsequently by them and the French alternately, till the capture of Sri Lanka by the British in 1795.
Trincomalee lies in the region of Sri Lanka where most of the population belongs to the Tamil ethnic group, and are Hindus by religion, in contrast to the island's majority group, which are ethnic Sinhalese and Buddhists. After Sri Lanka became independent in 1948, tension between the two groups intensified—culminating with the LTTE insurgency—with the heaviest fighting taking place in and around the city. A cease-fire was negotiated in 2002, but Trincomalee remains underdeveloped and impoverished even by Sri Lankan standards.
Trincomalee was one of the cities hardest hit by the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on December 26,2004.
Buddhist Reminiscences
Trincomalee and its environs are sacred to the Hindus as to the Buddhist. Tiriyayi 29 miles north of Trincomalee is a place of Buddhist interest. Here has been discovered the ruins of an ancient Buddhist monastery, with the standing structure of a vatadage, an architectural type, distinctively Sinhalese, occupying an area of about an acre in extent. In the centre of the premises is the ruined stupa. Below the hill extends to the East, the blue sea—the Bay of Bengal and an unbroken stretch of forest on all the other sides. A Sanskrit inscription on a rock gives the name of the shrine, the Giri Kandi Caitiya. The shrine is of great value to the Buddhists, for within it is believed to have reposed the very first relics of the Buddha. At the four entrances to the shrine are moonstones of high artistic merit. Among the other striking features are the guard stones of the makara and the naga.
The Harbor
Image:Sri Lanka-Trincomalee-Bucht.JPG
To begin with features sacred, is not to belittle or depreciate the other manifold fascinations of Trincomalee. Nature has endowed the region with a beauty and grace that has not been excelled by man. No doubt, man here has enriched Nature’s gifts, so much so, that Trincomalee today is a product of both aspects harmoniously blended.
Its importance as a place of strategic consequence guided its destinies in modern times. The great European powers vied with one another for the mastery of the harbor. The Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the English, each held it in turn, and many a sea fight was staged off the cliffs of Trincomalee. Of all harbors in the East, it can be said that it is largely today as Nature endowed it.
Commanding the finest view in all the station, are the terraced high lands overlooking the harbor—the site on the eminence of which stands the most commodious and attractive of the hotels of the place, the Welcombe Hotel. Below stretches in all its splendor the placid waters of the harbor, with but the gentlest of ripples playing over its surface as the soft wind blows over its wide expanse. To all appearance, more a lake set in natural surroundings, than an inlet of the sea, the view of the harbor from the terraced premises of the hotel is a sight most refreshing, physically and mentally. Guarding the entrance to the harbor are the pair of projecting headlines, much as the twin figures of dwarapalas at the entrance to one of the temples of Anuradhapura. It is the temple of Nature that these headlines safeguard. Far away in the distant horizon is a thickly wooded strip of land which “connects the landscape with the quiet of the sky.”
Irregular in outline all around as Nature made it, this enhances the charm of its setting. A carriage road winds along the northern and eastern sections of the harbor.
The situation of Trincomalee in an environment comparatively less developed and sparsely populated, has been a handicap in the past ages, to its advancement. Nevertheless plans to develop Trincomalee as a commercial seaport are under way. These hold forth rich promise of brighter days. Its gifts as a natural harbor may ere long bear fruit, as a commercial port of immense consequence to the economy of Sri Lanka.
The Hot Springs
Among the sights of the place are the seven hot springs of Kanniya, on the road to Trincomalee. About a mile on a side road branching from the main route, the hot springs are worth a visit. A high wall assembles all the seven springs in a rectangular enclosure. Each enclosed in a dwarf wall forms a well of its own. The water is mildly hot; the temperature varies but slightly in each. In effect, a public bathing resort, the use of the springs is controlled by the neighboring Mari Amman Kovil who holds the lease of the wells. The site of the springs is state land.
The Dutch Fort & Naval Museum in Trinco
The entrance to the roadway leading to Koneswaram is actually the entrance to what used to be Fort Fredrick. As you enter, a plaque hung on the sidewall of the archway reveals an intriguing history of occupation. The fort was built in 1623 by the Portuguese and captured in 1639 by the Dutch. It then went through a phase of dismantling and reconstruction and was attacked and captured by the French in 1672.
On January 8, 1782 it was captured by the British, only to be recaptured by the French on August 29 of the same year. In 1783 France ceded it to Britain and then by Britain to Holland. However, in 1795 the British recaptured and held it till Sri Lanka's independence in 1948. The importance of Fort Fredrick to so many colonial powers was due to Trincomalee's natural harbour, the fifth largest in the world. Through Trincomalee, it was believed a strong naval force could secure the control of India's Coromandel Coast. Today it is home to the Tissa naval base of the Sri Lankan Navy.
The Navy Base has one of Sri Lanka's most fascinating naval museums - The Hoods Tower Museum. You require permission from the Navy to enter the base.The name of the museum refers to a watchtower built on a hill, which commands a 360-degree view of the harbour and the bay. Three massive canons with a five-kilometer range, installed during the British period, keep a silent vigil over the harbour. Used for defense, the canons now form the centerpiece of an impressive array of antiquated military hardware.
Wooden lifeboats from the Sri Lankan Navy first ship, huge boilers used to disinfect and clean clothes on ships, an assortment of weapons from a bygone era, and old spy glasses that still work (you are allowed to look through them) are some of the items on display. The museum is located on a site, which is arguably the only place in Sri Lanka that held successive Sinhala, Portuguese, Dutch and British fortifications.
The British in Trincomalee
Template:Commons Until 1957 Trincomalee was an important base for the Royal Navy and was home to many British people who were employed by the British Admiralty. One of the places inhabited by the British was Fort Fredrick (now occupied by the Sri Lankan Army. Although some of the old buildings in the fort were used as residences, the British Government built a group of bungalows in the early 50's specifically for their employees. These bungalows still exist and provide accommodation for soldiers of the Sri Lankan Army.
DW Shortwave Relay Station
There is a Deutsche Welle Shortwave Relay Station in Trincomalee. It was not adversely affected by the previous Tsunami because of the sea terrain around Trincomalee. Deutsche Welle started broadcasting from Trincomalee Relay Station in 1984.
Trincomalee Campus
Though Trincomalee have no universities, it has a campus of Eastern University of Sri Lanka. Trincomalee campus functions under the Eastern University which is located in Batticaloa.
See also
External links
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