Mannar ( ta, மன்னார், translit=Maṉṉār, si, මන්නාරම, translit=Mannārama, formerly spelled Manar) is the main town of
Mannar District,
Northern Province, Sri Lanka
The Northern Province ( ta, வட மாகாணம் ''Vaṭa Mākāṇam''; si, උතුරු පළාත ''Uturu Paḷāta'') is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinc ...
. It is governed by an
Urban Council
The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Servic ...
. The town is located on
Mannar Island overlooking the
Gulf of Mannar
The Gulf of Mannar ( ) is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean with an average depth of . and is home to the historic
Ketheeswaram temple
Ketheeswaram temple ( ta, திருக்கேதீசுவரம் Tirukkētīsvaram) is an ancient Hindu temple in Mannar, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest temple in Sri Lanka with at least 1400 years of evidence. Overl ...
. In the
Tamil language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory o ...
, Mannar means the ''raised place
f sand
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
' which is though to have come from the geology of Mannar Island which was formed by the accumulation of sand.
History
Formerly the town was renowned as a centre of
pearl fishing, mentioned in the 2nd-century CE
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' ( grc, Περίπλους τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς Θαλάσσης, ', modern Greek '), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and ...
.
Mannar is known for its
baobab
''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.T ...
trees and for its fort, built by the
Portuguese in 1560 and taken by the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
in 1658 and rebuilt; its ramparts and bastions are intact, though the interior is largely destroyed.
Visually, the modern town is dominated by its churches, Hindu temples and mosques.
[Edward Aves, ''Sri Lanka'' (Footprint Travel Guides, 2003: ), p. 337.] The
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
has a
diocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...
headquartered in the town. By rail the town is connected to the rest of Sri Lanka by the
Mannar Line
The Mannar line is a railway line in Sri Lanka. Branching off the northern line at Medawachchiya Junction, the line heads north-west through North Central and Northern provinces before terminating at the town of Talaimannar. The line is long ...
. It was occupied by
LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
during
Sri Lankan Civil War between 1983 and 2009.
See also
*
Manthai
Manthai ( ta, மாந்தை, translit=Māntai) is a coastal town and an ancient harbor situated in the Mannar district, of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Manthai functioned as the main port of the Anuradhapura Kingdom throughout its hi ...
*
Talaimannar
Talaimannar ( ta, தலைமன்னார்; si, තලෙයිමන්නාරම) is a settlement in Sri Lanka located on the northwestern coast of Mannar Island.
Transport
Sri Lanka's northern railway line was destroyed, disrupted ...
References
External links
Information on Mannar (Tamil)Official Mannar.com (Tamil)
Towns in Mannar District
Mannar DS Division
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