Friday, February 14, 2025 - Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

Trincomalee is a town built next to a majestic natural harbor, the world's fith largest deep-water harbor.  It is a gateway to the many historical sites in Sri Lanka.  It is rich in culture and history and is surrounded by treasured sites which date back thousands of years.  Although the population of Trincomalee is nearly 109,000, the cultural value of the area is immeasurable.  Inland there are some of the world's most majestic archaeological and holy sites. 

The coast boasts Trincomalee's plentiful, palm-lined beaches. The island is truly a land which features a multitude of diverse landscapes and one which presents many opportunities to explore.  One of our passengers asked about the form of government in Sri Lanka.  Our guide looked a bit sheepish and then said quietly he didn't discuss politics and replied they have a socialist-democratic government, with a president.

Nature abounds in this beautiful area.  There are over 5,000 wild elephants in the area.  There are two types of elephants in Sri Lanka, the African and the Asian elephant.  They are the country's largest mammal.   Elephants are a protected species in Sri Lanka and are the symbol of Buddhists. 

In addition to the elephants, there are many types of monkeys, monitor lizards on both land and in the water, snakes, both poisonous and non-poisonous and two types of crocodiles. There are 426 bird species on the island, with 29 of them endemic and found only on this island. Peacocks wander freely throughout the island, and Hindus believe they are holy.  We saw many of them with their spectacular blue, green colors. The national animal is the jungle fowl, which is an interesting choice, considering how many wild elephants there are on the island. The waters are also teeming with life, including blue whales, tuna, sharks, herring, squid, dolphins, sea turtles and many other species. 

Sri Lanka is an agricultural land with no natural resources, however, it does have gem stones including rubies, sapphires, garnets, topaz and others.  They also mine porcelain and are one of the world's major rubber producers. Agricultural products grown here include 25 types of bananas, papayas, and coconuts.  Many of these products are exported to various places throughout the world. Tea and rubber are also widely exported.  Local people eat very little meat here.  Their diet consists mostly of fish and rice.  Rice is eaten with meals three times a day and is imported from China.

Our tour today began with a scenic, approximately 30-minute drive to the Velgram Vehere temple ruins.  The roads are filled with tuk-tuks and motorbikes.  Cars are much less frequent since there are no automobile manufacturers on the island and they have to be imported which drives up the cost.   As we drove, our guide had the time to give us some information about the area.  He told us that Sri Lanka was first colonized by the Portuguese until 1658 at which time it was taken over by the Dutch until 1796.  In 1815 the British took control until 1948 when Sri Lanka gained its independence.  He told us that over 70% of the people today identify as Buddhist, 13% as Hindu, 10% are Muslim and 7% are Christian.  Less than 1% practice other religions, or have no religious beliefs.  

When we arrived at the ruins our guide told us it was one of the most important Buddhist temples in the country.  The temple is believed to be built between 307 and 267 B.C., with later renovations.  As the population migrated to other parts of the country, the temple was abandoned and fell into ruin.  When invaders attacked, many Buddhist shrines were destroyed, however, the Velgam Vehera managed to survive unscathed.  Instead, the invaders renovated the temple, added their own structures and changed the name to honor their king  However, over the following years the new tenants left the temple and it fell into disrepair once again as time and nature took its toll on the structures.  

In 1929 the ruins of Velgam Vehera were discovered by the Sri Lanka Archaeological Department and in 1934 the site was declared as an archaeological protected reserve.  We walked around the peaceful, lovely grounds and observed a number of ruins.  Very little remains from the original structures.  One lonely monk, jammed in a small building which houses a gallery of photos, drawings and mementos from the ancient site joined our tour. Archaeologists have partially rebuilt some of the structures to give visitors an idea of the original buildings.  There was one small, modern building which contained a large sitting Buddha, which gives followers the opportunity to come and offer sacrifices and worship in this region.

Once we left the ruins we made a stop for refreshments at the Jkab Beach Resort.  It was a chance to "freshen up" and enjoy a cool drink while we soaked in the view of the lovely coastline.  I particularly liked the flowers and greenery on the grounds, which gave the entire area a quiet, serene and peaceful feeling.  Beautiful beaches with fishermen repairing fish nets were on the shoreline.

 

 

Soon it was time to get back on the road to visit our next site.  Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Koneswaram Temple is nestled in the midst of the historic and much-fought-over Fort Fredrick, a 17th century Dutch Fort.  The original shrine was demolished in 1622 by the Portuguese, who called it the "Temple of a Thousand Columns." This spectacular temple overlooks the enormous harbor.  

It is an ancient temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.  It is located high on a cliff which overlooks a dramatic bay which is a seasonal home to blue whales.  It continues to be an important religious pilgrimage center for Hindus although its grandeur was mostly lost in the 17th century at the hands of the colonial Portuguese who razed structures, dumped some of them into the sea, destroyed objects and smashed much of the ornamentation.  To salvage what they could, priests and devotees of the temple scrambled to bury their sacred objects to avoid having them crushed in the raids.  

The original temple is claimed by some to have been the greatest building of its age, for both its architecture and its ornamentation.  It contained such magnificent features as a thousand-pillared hall and a raised platform configuration, features that were destroyed.  The original gateway tower was visible to sailors approaching Sri Lanka from the sea.  Restoration work of the temple was completed in 1983.  Underwater pieces were recovered and some drawings of the original temple done by the Portuguese governor who was responsible for the destruction of the temple were discovered in recent years which added greatly in documenting the appearance of the original temple.  

To access the temple, we had to remove our shoes at the base of a rather lengthy, roughly paved road and hike up the hill.  Each side of the street was filled with vendors in small booths selling a variety of wares, including fruit and flowers for sacrifices and a plethora of cheaply made souvenirs for the tourists.  The area was rather dirty so we had to be very watchful for glass, gravel, rocks or other debris.  The pavement reflected the heat and everyone was struggling to continue walking.

Finally arriving at the top of the hill, we made our way through the massive wooden temple doors.  We were met by a cacophony of sights and sounds.  There were brightly painted statues of multiple Hindu gods, people blasting music through speakers as they played their instruments, multitudes of people meandering through the temple and followers who were presenting sacrifices such as fresh flowers and fruit, lighting candles and incense.  Every inch of wall and ceiling was covered with brilliantly painted murals  Our senses were on overload as we made our way through the masses of people and objects.  Back outside, we walked around the temple grounds, enjoying the lovely view of the harbor, and then made our way back down the path to the bus.  Along the way we encountered many deer searching for food.  They must be quite accustomed to people since they appeared to be quite comfortable with the crowds. 

After our  lengthy walk back we boarded the mini bus, and headed back to the ship.  It was an interesting drive down the mountain from the temple.  We passed many small groups of people as our guide told us that many people make a pilgrimage to the temple once a year to gain favor with the Hindu gods. Our guide told us that often a childless couple who wanted a child would walk to the temple and place an offering on a certain tree on the temple grounds, and pray to get pregnant.  Local people here are tied to praying to various gods.  

As our drive continued we passed a field and our guide explained that it was a cricket field, which is very popular in Sri Lanka.  However, we were all very surprised to learn that volleyball is the most popular sport in the country!  It has been an interesting day, even if we have been here a few times before.  

Our next stop will be a continued exploration of Sri Lanka, with a stop at a port we have not visited previously.  We will be in Hambantota, which is evidently a small village so it will be interesting.  Unfortunately, since there is a strong taxi and "tuk-tuk" union, a shuttle cannot be provided by Silversea to the town.  Since all of the tours tomorrow have an extensive amount of walking and/or activity I will be unable to participate.  Bob, on the other hand, will attempt to visit Mulkiriqala, Temple of the Great Kings. Sounds great.  Wish I could go but I would never make it.  He'll just have to write the blog tomorrow.