I’m staying in Galle Fort, built in 1588 by the Portuguese and fortified in the 17th Century by the Dutch. The 2004 tsunami devastated this area, killing over 30,000 people, but the buildings inside the fort were mostly protected. In an interesting side note, most of the wild life, including stray cats and dogs, sought higher ground before the wave hit and survived.
Walking around at sunrise, this joint reminded me of the M’dina in Malta–a tangle of passageways, moss growing on damp buildings, Sebastian Venable running from young cannibals–time and tradition captured in amber only interrupted by the occasional Coca-Cola sign, thankfully.
WRITTEN 06/2016
