贝拉湖

贝拉湖 贝拉湖 贝拉湖

贝拉湖是科伦坡市最著名的地标之一。它位于首都的正中心,是城市范围内为数不多的休闲和美丽的地方之一。因此,湖区及其周边有许多景点,湖本身的历史也很值得一提。

贝拉湖最初是一个占地410英亩的巨大湖泊,距今已有一个多世纪。但随着该地区商业化的迅速发展,它的面积已缩减至大约160英亩。

历史

贝拉湖由1500年代的葡萄牙侵略者所建,目的是作为保护他们在科伦坡基地免受当地敌对势力袭击的护城河。他们在湖中设置了许多隐秘的危险,例如大型鳄鱼等。

贝拉湖成为当地主权者,如赛达瓦卡的玛雅杜内的巨大障碍,他试图解救该地区脱离外来统治。最终是玛雅杜内的儿子拉贾辛哈一世在1587年成功疏导了湖水,差点从葡萄牙手中恢复该地区。然而,他切断了湖泊的水源,却未能应对葡萄牙从印度增援的部队。

在荷兰人围攻并占领湖泊后,他们扩展了湖泊并人工造了多个岛屿,其中一些岛屿如奴隶岛大到足以容纳一个村庄或椰子种植园。人们开始在这些岛屿上定居,但湖泊仍然主要用于政治囚犯,如奴隶岛,或农业使用,因为湖泊中仍然充满鳄鱼。

在英国人接管后,他们清除了鳄鱼并开发了湖泊周围的地区。如今,湖岸边绿草如茵,成为了举办派对的热门场所,还曾举行过庆祝英国在滑铁卢战役胜利的盛大舞会。贝拉湖因许多休闲活动,如划船和帆船运动而声名远扬。

贝拉的成长

约十年前,情况恶化到极点,以至于湖区几乎被贫民窟包围,湖水完全是这些贫民窟的废水,这些地方由于缺乏合适的废物管理而无法进行净化。该地区弥漫着臭气,只有最贫穷的人生活在这里。

当时,湖区周围是许多大型仓库,这些仓库让人想起科伦坡的茶叶贸易;茶叶通过港口通道上的驳船运输。这些仓库像鬼城一样站立着,沾满了百年的尘土,破碎的窗户无情地展现出废弃的景象。

贝拉湖 贝拉湖 贝拉湖

About Colombo District

Colombo is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, the capital city of Sri Lanka. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life and colonial buildings and ruins and a city population of 647,100.The Colombo Metropolitan Region, defined by the districts of Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara, has an estimated population of 5,648,000, and covers an area of 3,694.20 km²

Colombo is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural city. It is the most populous city in Sri Lanka, with 642,163 people living within the city limits. The population of Colombo is a mix of numerous ethnic groups, mainly Sinhalese, Moors and Tamils. There are also small communities of people with Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, Malay and Indian origins living in the city, as well as numerous European expatriates.

The great majority of Sri Lankan corporations have their head offices in Colombo. Some of the industries include chemicals, textiles, glass, cement, leather goods, furniture, and jewellery. In the city center is located South Asia's second tallest building - The World Trade Centre.

About Western Province

The Western Province is the most densely populated province of Sri Lanka. It is home to the legislative capital Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte as well to Colombo, the nation's administrative and business center. Western Province is divided into 3 main districts called Colombo (642 km²), Gampaha (1,386.6 km²) and Kalutara (1,606 km²) districts. As Sri Lanka's economic hub, all the major local and international corporations have their presence in the city and so do all the major designer and high street retailers, so be ready to indulge in some retail therapy in western province.

Having the highest population in the all the provinces, the almost all the premier educational institutions in the island are located in western province. Universities in the province include the University of Colombo, the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, University of Kelaniya, Open University, Sri Lanka, Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University and University of Moratuwa .Western province has the largest amount of schools in the country, which includes National, Provincial, Private and International schools.