1. Throughout its history, Sri Lanka has had several names. In ancient times, the Greeks named the island Taprobanaand to the Persians and Arabs it was known as Sarandib. From 1948 to 1972, the country was a dominion of the British Empire under the name Ceylon. The modern name of the island state of Sri Lanka is translated from the ancient Sanskrit language as “blessed land”.
  2. The shape of the island resembles a tear, which seems to have rolled down the eastern coast of India and caught on the tip of its southern state of Tamil Nadu. This contributed to the emergence of unofficial names of Sri Lanka such as “tear of India” or “Pearl of the Indian Ocean”.
  3. Since the beginning of the country’s existence small several capitals. In ancient times these were Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kandy. Today, Sri Lanka has two capitals: the official administrative one with a long and hard-to-pronounce name Sri Jayawardenepuru Kotte and unofficial – Colombothe center of the country’s industrial and commercial activity.
  4. Sri Lanka – a bilingual state. Most of the inhabitants of the island speak in Tamil and Sinhala, which can be heard only in this country. In communication between representatives of different ethnic groups living in the territory of the state, English is especially popular.
  5. Sri Lanka has the most days off. Although the main religion is Buddhism, which is practiced by about 70% of the population, the country is considered multi-religious. In order to avoid conflicts between believers, it was introduced the law regarding the official celebration of religious holidays of each faith.
  6. National holiday Alut Avarudu – New Year, which Lankans celebrate in April. The holiday date depends on the lunar cycle, therefore it changes every year. An interesting feature of the holiday is the concept of Nonagata – neutral time period between the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year, which can last up to several hours.
  7. The country’s flag is considered one of the oldest state symbols in the world. The image of a lion on the canvas represents the ancient ancestors of the Lankans. The red field symbolizes Buddhism, and the green and orange stripes represent the Muslim and Hindu faiths, respectively.
  8. Ceylon tea – business card of Sri Lanka. Back in ancient times, sprouts were brought to the island by the English from India. Now the country produces more than 300,000 tons of tea every year, which is a tenth of the world’s production. Scientists consider the country homeland of cinnamonwhich was discovered on the island by the ancient Egyptians.
  9. In the mountains of the island laid railway. Since most of the railways in the country were built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the speed of trains does not exceed 40 km/h. Buses with open doors drive along the narrow highways, and passengers have to jump out of them as they go. There are also toll highways where more comfortable (and more expensive) vehicles travel.
  10. The distance from Sri Lanka to the equator reaches about 800 km. Therefore, throughout the year air temperature throughout the country is almost the same and can vary between 25-30°С.
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interesting facts about Sri Lanka

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