0xxxx Website Colombo (;: කොළඹ, translit. Kolamba, pronounced;: கொழும்பு, translit.

Apr 28, 2018 - Detailed and high-resolution maps of Colombo, Sri Lanka for free download. Travel guide to touristic destinations, museums and architecture in.

Koḻumpu, pronounced ) is the commercial and largest city of by population. According to the, Colombo metropolitan area has a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 in the. It is the financial centre of the island and a popular tourist destination. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to the Greater Colombo area which includes, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital since Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is within the urban area of, and a suburb of, Colombo. It is also the administrative capital of the and the district capital of.

Colombo is a busy and vibrant place with a mixture of modern life and colonial buildings and ruins. It was the legislative capital of Sri Lanka until 1982. Due to its large and its strategic position along the East-West sea, Colombo was known to ancient traders 2,000 years ago. It was made the capital of the island when Sri Lanka was ceded to the in 1815, and its status as capital was retained when the nation became in 1948. In 1978, when administrative functions were moved to, Colombo was designated as the commercial capital of Sri Lanka.

Like many cities, Colombo's urban area extends well beyond the boundaries of a single local authority, encompassing other and urban councils such as Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Municipal Council, Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal Council, Kolonnawa Urban Council, Kaduwela Municipal Council and Kotikawatte Mulleriyawa Pradeshiya Sabha. The main city is home to a majority of Sri Lanka's corporate offices, restaurants and entertainment venues. Noti dlya fortepiano pesni ani lorak solnce. Famous landmarks in Colombo include,,,,,,,, as well as the. Coat of arms of Colombo from the era, depicting a.

The name 'Colombo', first introduced by the Portuguese in 1505, is believed to be derived from the classical name කොලොන් තොට Kolon thota, meaning 'port on the river '. Another belief is that the name is derived from the Sinhalese name කොල-අඹ-තොට Kola-amba-thota which means 'Harbour with leafy mango trees'. This coincides with Robert Knox's history of the island while he was a prisoner in Kandy. He writes that, 'On the West the City of Columbo, so called from a Tree the Natives call Ambo, (which bears the Mango-fruit) growing in that place; but this never bare fruit, but onely leaves, which in their Language is Cola and thence they called the Tree Colambo: which the Christians in honour of turned to Columbo.' The author of the oldest Sinhalese grammar, Sidatsangarava, written in the 13th century wrote about a category of words that exclusively belonged to early Sinhalese. It lists naramba (to see) and kolamba (ford or harbour) as belonging to an.

Kolamba may also be the source of the name of the commercial capital Colombo. History [ ] As Colombo possesses a natural harbour, it was known to,,,,, and traders over 2,000 years ago. Traveller who visited the island in the 14th century, referred to it as Kalanpu. Arabs, whose prime interests were trade, began to settle in Colombo around the 8th century AD mostly because the port helped their business by the way of controlling much of the trade between the kingdoms and the outside world. Their descendants now comprise the local community. Portuguese era [ ] explorers led by Dom first arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505.

During their initial visit they made a treaty with the King of, (1484–1508), which enabled them to trade in the island's crop of cinnamon, which lay along the coastal areas of the island, including in Colombo. 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. They were allowed to establish a in Colombo. Within a short time, however, they expelled the inhabitants of Colombo and began to build a in 1517. The Portuguese soon realized that control of Sri Lanka was necessary for protection of their coastal establishments in India and they began to manipulate the rulers of the Kotte kingdom to gain control of the area. After skilfully exploiting rivalries within the royal family, they took control of a large area of the kingdom and the Sinhalese King Mayadunne established a new kingdom at Sitawaka, a domain in the Kotte kingdom. Before long he annexed much of the Kotte kingdom and forced the Portuguese to retreat to Colombo, which was repeatedly besieged by Mayadunne and the later kings of Sitawaka, forcing them to seek reinforcement from their major base in, India.