Where Gumbo Was #528
Galle, situated in the south-western corner of the island, is the capital of Sri Lanka’s Southern Province. Congratulations to George G who correctly identified the city as this week’s mystery location.
Galle’s old town is the part that has most to offer the visitor. It is defined by the walls of the fort, which occupies the whole of the peninsula on the southern side of the city. It is generally known as the ‘Dutch Fort’, but its origins date back to the time of the Portuguese reign over these parts of the country (i.e. the 16th century). The Dutch captured the fort in 1640 and subsequently extended its defensive structures significantly. The old town and its fortifications were awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 1988.
If you search for iconic images of Galle on the internet, you are likely to find photos of its lighthouse and clock tower near the top of the list, as well as any number of cannons.
The cannons are positioned all along the ramparts, shown below at their southern end.
A few years ago you would have found only a small number of cannons here. I do not know where they had been kept, but they began to appear in the last three to four years, along with new signage and stone tablets providing background information about the various parts of the fortifications. The paths on top of the ramparts also appear to have been smoothed out and tidied up recently. Whilst it was a World Heritage site before, it has now actually started to look the part.
Walking away from the ramparts you enter the streets and alleys of the old town.
There are many reminders of the town’s Dutch colonial past, like the Old Dutch Hospital pictured below. It now is home to bars, restaurants, and shops.
The building which houses the National Museum of Galle also has a history that goes back to the early days of Dutch rule.
Below are a few more photos from a stroll through the town.
You could describe the variety of building styles as a hotch-potch, but that would be a somewhat unkind label for what is actually an interesting and often visually appealing mix (although admittedly not always).
We have visited Galle regularly over the last 25 years or so. Some ten or fifteen years ago you would have encountered quite a few buildings here that were in a rather dilapidated state. Many of these have meanwhile been restored or at least substantially renovated. However, some areas still feel a bit run down—albeit often in a charming way.
If you feel in need of sustenance or just some shade, you will find a variety of restaurants and cafés in the town centre. The pandemic and the recent economic turmoil in the country sadly appear to have pushed some of them over the financial edge, but there is still plenty of choice.
A number of restaurants have very pleasant inner courtyards. It is, therefore, worthwhile to look beyond what is visible from the street.
The Portuguese and Dutch, of course, were not the only ones who were attracted to Sri Lanka’s spices and other riches. In the late 18th century the British used the opportunity presented by the Napoleonic Wars—the Netherlands had been conquered by France—to take over the parts of Sri Lanka which the Dutch had controlled and eventually the whole of the country became a British colony.
As you would expect, Galle has many reminders of the British era, which lasted until independence in 1948.
The police car below, however, is not one of them. I have included this photo largely for its curiosity value, but these ‘tuk-tuks’ can go to many places which a car would struggle to reach (or simply could not).
We have often encountered film crews in Galle and you are more than likely to walk inadvertently into a fashion shoot (or into somebody’s staged wedding photos) as you wander around. The crew pictured below appeared to be filming some kind of Bollywood-style movie—we noticed that the number plates on cars and motor bikes in their scenes had been changed to Indian ones.
In common with most cities in Sri Lanka, Galle has places of worship belonging to various different religions. The Buddhist temple shown at the top of this article is the Sri Sudharmalaya Viharaya and lies on the Western edge of the old town. The nicely decorated shrine pictured below is directly opposite.
The dazzlingly white Meeran Jumma Mosque faces Galle’s lighthouse.
At the opposite end of the old town you find the Anglican All Saints Church and the much older ‘Groote Kerk’, the Dutch Reformed Church.
A short walk from the main entrance to the Fort takes you to a large Hindu temple and what, to my mind at least, is the most picturesque church in Galle: St. Mary’s Cathedral.
As you can see from the photo, it was consecrated in 1874. If you do not fancy a walk in the heat—you get good views of the church from the ramparts near the clock tower.
You can, of course, also take a tuk-tuk there and look at some other areas of Galle at the same time. The fruit market has already featured in this week’s clues.
You might also be interested in the fish market and the colourful fishing boats on the beaches not far from there.
We usually travel to Galle by tuk-tuk—largely because a close friend drives one—but there are good rail and bus connections to many places. Both the railway and bus station are near the entrance to the Fort. There are also accommodation options for all budgets.
As you will have gathered, we like coming here. We always discover something new and often come across unexpected sights—like the snake charmer in the photo below.
A final note: Whilst Sri Lanka’s economic situation continues to be precarious, the country has moved on from the economic and political chaos of twelve months ago. There are still some shortages, but as far as the visitor experience is concerned, things are largely back to normal. Our most recent trip to Sri Lanka was in November/December and the most noticeable difference to previous ones was the near absence of other visitors—Galle, in particular, was almost deserted.
