Colombo

Dearest Rachel –

I don’t know what it is about this particular city, but I have trouble taking this destination seriously. Much like the criminals matching wits with this guy:

Yeah, I admit it; this is what comes to mind when I think of the name of this place. And it’s not like I ever even watched the show, to the best of my recollection; you probably remember him better than I do. Then again, like me, you probably remember him better as the grandfather from The Princess Bride. As you wish.

None of which has anything to do with the city of Colombo, the capital of what I still remember as Ceylon, despite having changed its name to Sri Lanka over fifty years ago. Hey, it took a while to catch on, especially in the Anglosphere, where ‘sr’ isn’t a common combination of letters. But the change was understandable, as “Ceylon” was given to the island by Portuguese colonizers in the 16th century, rather than a native name (although, if you squint your ear enough, you can see how it might have been a bastardization of the first two syllables of its current name, suggesting that the “new” name is a much older one than we give it credit for). “Sri Lanka” is derived from Sanskrit and Pali words meaning either “resplendent island” or “venerable island,” reflecting the country’s rich cultural heritage and natural beauty.

Interestingly enough, though, the name ‘Colombo’ appears to also have been bestowed upon the city by the Portuguese in 1505, derived from the classical Sinhala name කොලොන් තොට, கொல்லம் துறைமுகம் Kolon thota: “port on the river Kelani.” Why they changed the country name but kept the city name, I’ve no idea; it’s not as if I had (or should have had) any say in the matter, nor am I owed an explanation.

Of course, the Portuguese weren’t the only ones to alter the name; even before they arrived, the traveler and historian Ibn Battuta visited the island in the 14th century, and referred to the city as Kalanpu. His fellow Arabs began to settle in Colombo around the eighth century A.D. as part of their own trade network. However, the Portuguese really made the place their own, quite literally. During their initial visit they made a treaty with the King of Kotte (which is now the administrative capital of modern Sri Lanka, and part of greater metropolitan Colombo, although a separate municipality from the city proper), which enabled them to trade in the island’s crop of cinnamon, which grew along the coastal areas of the island, including in Colombo, where they were allowed to establish a trading post. As part of the treaty, the Portuguese were given full authority over the coastline in exchange for the promise of guarding the coast against invaders.

Within a short time, however, they expelled the Muslim inhabitants of Colombo and began to build a fort in 1517. This part of Colombo is still known as Fort and houses the presidential palace and the majority of Colombo’s five star hotels. The area immediately outside Fort is known as Pettah (Sinhala: පිට කොටුව,Tamil: புறக் கோட்டை piṭa koṭuva, “outer fort”) and is a commercial hub. It’s this part of the town that I’ll be exploring on foot tomorrow as part of my shore excursion, which I understand will be led by one of the guest speakers performing the edification lectures during the days (which, as it happens, I don’t generally attend, as I’m usually going through my own work, be it videos, letters… or, particularly on sea days, spending time in the gym) that often delve into the history and culture of the various stops we’re making on this trip.

Odds are, the leader will be covering a few of the details I’ve gleaned here as we walk through about a mile and a half of the Pettah District. He will probably also discuss the century and a half each of both Dutch and British rule succeeding the Portuguese – all of the Western mercantile economies coveted Colombo, not only for its own goods but for the fact that it was strategically important for defending holdings on the Indian mainland as well – as well as the days since independence was achieved in 1948 (at the same time as India itself).

Despite not having a chance to do so today, I’ll probably need to get some local funds in order to do a little bit of shopping in the markets and bazaars; I should rather assume that, if our tour is taking us through the oldest commercial section of town, we’ll likely be able to engage in a little commercial activity of our own. But we’ll have to see how it goes. In any event, I should probably crash a bit early tonight, as we’ll be meeting in the theater at seven in the morning – absurdly early, but if that’s how we can avoid the real heat of the day, I guess it’s what we need to do. Not sure how much of the area will be open at that hour, either – it seems early based on experience with other locales along the way – but I’ll fill you in about it when I get back from all this.

In the meantime, honey, keep an eye on me, and wish me luck. I’m going to need it.