DISCOVERING SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka is a country that dates back over 3000 years and is rich in history and culture. It is located in South East Asia and is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean, which makes it a very tropical environment prone to all sorts of weather conditions. Some areas of the southern half of Sri Lanka are filled with mountains, valleys, plateaus, and small hills; these are highly influential on the patterns of wind, temperature, seasonal rainfall, and humidity, especially during the monsoon period.

              

The estimated mean annual rainfall in Mirissa's region varies from 2000 mm to 2500 mm of rain. Another factor is temperature, which varies due to altitude and not latitude in Sri Lanka. The average temperature varies from 25 to 30 degrees Celsius.

In Sri Lanka, Culture dates back over 2500 years and is mainly influenced by two religions, Buddhism and Hinduism , but in more recent times, the British colonial culture has influence the local culture .Architecture in Sri Lanka varies in style and form from the Anuradhapua Kingdom and the Kingdom of Kandy but the two religions have always been the main impact on the architecture in Sri Lanka.

Buddhism

Hinduism

 Here are some examples of architecture in Sri Lanka:

                        

Meditation Houses

Meditation houses in Sri Lanka are made form two raised platforms that are connected by a stone bridge made from a single slab of stone. The outer platform is bigger and more raised than the inner platform and opens onto the sky.  Meditation houses demonstrate a high standard knowledge of geometry as the main shapes incorporated in their design are rectangles and squares, yet they have great symmetry. These spaces are building with high quality stone masonry and the basements are made from monumental blocks of stone, cut to many sizes and carefully arranged.

Dagobas or Stupas

Dagobas and Stupas in Sri Lanka are known to be the largest brick structures known to the pre-modern world. The construction of Stupas is still very significant to this day as they are used to enshrine Buddha's relics. Stupas are generally designs so that their entrances are laid out in a way that their centre lines point to the relic chambers. Stupas' structures are admired because of their strength and symmetry. They also come in many shapes: a paddy heap, bubble, pot and bell.

Cave Temple

The main feature in cave temples was a drip ledge along the ceiling that prevented rainwater from entering the cave. Windows, doors and walls made from brick or stone followed. Finally the ceiling and walls were plastered in white and covered with paintings.

                         

Rock Palace

There was an upper palace was parallel to the lower one, much higher in elevation. The innermost royal room, which was originally a multi-leveled structure, had a 360 degree view of the city gardens and countryside below it. There was a series of successive courtyards, chambers, and terraces connected by stairs and paved pathways.

Bathing tanks or Pools

The bottom and the sides of the pool were made of cut granite slab with a wall built around the pool to enclose the compound. The staircases on either side are decorated with pots of abundance and scroll design.Underground ducts were used to transfer water to the pools and to filter it before flowing to the pool in the same way the water is emptied.

The main materials used in Sri Lankan buildings include:

Timber

Brick

Lime mortar

White washed walls

Granite

One of the main fishing areas in Sri Lanka is Mirissa Beach. Here fishermen are known as the stilt-fishermen, as they have adopted a finishing method that is very different to conventional finishing techniques.

                         

                         

Stilt-fishermen in Sri Lanka

Just before sunrise, the stilt fishermen are in their positions, balancing two metres above the coral reef.  The poles are usually between 3 to 4 metres high. Using the vertical poles planted into the coral reef, the fishermen are seated on a cross bar attached to the pole, called a petta . They latch onto the stilt with one hand while holding a finishing rod with the other. Fishermen are usually looking for spotted herrings (koraburuwa) and small mackerels (bolla), which they then store in a plastic bag tied around the pole or their waist. The fishermen do not use fishing nets because it can be obtrusive and they do not want to disturb the fish or cause them to disappear.