Khan Clock Tower

Khan Clock Tower Khan Clock Tower Khan Clock Tower

As you enter the City of Colombo from the Colombo Harbour, the first thing you would encounter is the sprawling Pettah Market. Filled with all the bright colors, noise, bustle, and pungent smells; the market is the biggest and busiest market on the island. All the goods that are brought in from the ships pass through the market, and as a result, you can find almost anything and everything here.

Guarding the entrance to this industrious zone is a century-old clock tower known as the Khan Clock Tower. The tower was built in the early 20th century by a Parsi family of the name Khan.

The Parsis were essentially Persians who had migrated to India around the 7th century AD for fear of religious discrimination when the Arabs invaded what is now Iran. Many settled in Gujarat. Their older roots segregated them from the modern Zoroastrian Indian community of Iranis who only arrived in the 19th and 20th century. The Parsis were often traders and had business interests in the nearby communities.

The Khan family were a particularly illustrious Parsi family who had many trade interests in Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was then called. They owned many large businesses, including the Colombo Oil Mills, which was quite famous at the time for producing many varieties of high quality oil.

In 1878, the patriarch of the family – Framjee Bhikhajee Khan – passed away leaving his two sons to take over the family’s trade. They successfully grew their businesses achieving fame and fortune over the next several decades. But they never forgot their father, who taught them so much and made them who they were.

In the year of 1923, they built a clock tower and fountain in his memory, close to where he loved to work. On the base of the clocktower an inscribed plate was attached. It said: "This clock tower and fountain was erected to the memory of Framjee Bhikhajee Khan by his sons Bhikhajee and Munchershaw Framjee Khan as a token of affectionate gratitude and dedicated through the Municipal Council to the citizens of Colombo on the fourth day of January 1923, the 45th anniversary of his death.”

The four-story tall tower remains there to this day on a landscaped roundabout. The water fountain that’s attached to it has long stopped working. But clock tower continues to function. A rock solid memorial to the love and affection of family.

Khan Clock Tower Khan Clock Tower Khan Clock Tower
【LK94009831: Khan Clock Tower. Images by Google, copyright(s) reserved by original authors.】

Om Colombo-distriktet

Colombo er Sri Lankas største by og handelshovedstad. Den ligger på øens vestkyst og støder op til Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, Sri Lankas hovedstad. Colombo er en travl og pulserende by med en blanding af moderne liv og koloniale bygninger og ruiner og en bybefolkning på 647.100. Colombo Metropolitan Region, defineret af distrikterne Colombo, Gampaha og Kalutara, har en anslået befolkning på 5.648.000 og dækker et areal på 3.694,20 km². Colombo er en multietnisk, multikulturel by. Det er den mest folkerige by i Sri Lanka med 642.163 mennesker, der bor inden for bygrænsen. Befolkningen i Colombo er en blanding af adskillige etniske grupper, primært singalesere, maurere og tamiler. Der er også små samfund af mennesker med kinesisk, portugisisk, hollandsk, malaysisk og indisk oprindelse, der bor i byen, samt adskillige europæiske udlændinge. Langt de fleste srilankanske virksomheder har deres hovedkontorer i Colombo. Nogle af industrierne omfatter kemikalier, tekstiler, glas, cement, lædervarer, møbler og smykker. I byens centrum ligger Sydasiens næsthøjeste bygning - World Trade Center.

Om Vestprovinsen

Vestprovinsen er den tættest befolkede provins i Sri Lanka. Den er hjemsted for den lovgivende hovedstad Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte samt Colombo, landets administrative og forretningsmæssige centrum. Vestprovinsen er opdelt i 3 hoveddistrikter kaldet Colombo (642 km²), Gampaha (1.386,6 km²) og Kalutara (1.606 km²). Som Sri Lankas økonomiske centrum er alle de store lokale og internationale virksomheder til stede i byen, ligesom alle de store designer- og detailhandlere, så vær klar til at forkæle dig selv med lidt shoppingterapi i den vestlige provins. Med den højeste befolkning i alle provinser er næsten alle de førende uddannelsesinstitutioner på øen placeret i den vestlige provins. Universiteterne i provinsen omfatter University of Colombo, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, University of Kelaniya, Open University, Sri Lanka, Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University og University of Moratuwa. Den vestlige provins har det største antal skoler i landet, herunder nationale, provinsielle, private og internationale skoler.

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