Matara (Sinhala:
මාතර, Tamil:
மாத்தறை) (originally Mahathota) is a major city in Sri Lanka, located in the southern coast of Southern Province, Sri Lanka, 160 km from Colombo. It is one of the major commercial hubs in the country and it is the administrative capital of Matara District.
[1] It was deeply affected by the Asian tsunami in December 2004.
Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Education
- 2.1 Universities
- 2.2 Schools
- 3 Economy and Infrastructure
- 4 See also
- 5 References
- 6 External links
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History
Matara historically belongs to the area called Ruhuna,
one of the three kingdoms in Sri Lanka (Thun Sinhalaya). The temple in
the middle of the town is also built by ancient kings and now it is a
very popular sacred place among the Buddhists in the area. In 16th and
18th centuries Matara was ruled by Portuguese and Dutch respectively.
The culture and architecture can be still seen in the area. The popular
light house in Point Dondra was built by the Dutch and it is considered
as one of the most beautiful and oldest light houses in Sri Lanka. The
two fortresses built by Portuguese and Dutch can be found inside the
city of Matara. Other important works done by Dutch are the St. Marie's
church and the market place in Nupe junction.
Most famous intellects lived in the area are Kumaratunga Munidasa and Gajaman Nona. The ethnic majority of Matara is Sinhala, during 16th and 17th centuries Moors arrived into the area as traders from Arabia, and today their descendants coexist with Sinhalese peacefully as an ethnic minority.
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