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| Pettah (left) situated opposite Fort Railway Station (right) |
Immediately east of Fort (across the narrow canal that separates the outer harbour from the Beira Lake) is Pettah, a maze of streets and alleys piled and crammed with goods of every description, from colourful textiles, gold and silver, and colonial-era antiquities to the necessities of everyday life - spices, fruit and vegetables, reeking heaps of dried fish, paraffin, batteries, electrical goods, clothes and footwear.
Whatever you are looking for, you'll find it in Pettah - though shopping here, which can call for determined bargaining, is not for the faint of heart. Among the most interesting streets for both sightseeing and shopping is Sea Street, in the northeast corner of Pettah, with its goldsmiths' workshops and the dramatically colourful Hindu Kathiresan and Old, Kathiresan kovils (temples). These are the starting point for the Vel festival, celebrating the marriage of the god Murugan (the top Tamil deity) to his queen. Deivanai and concubine Valli Ammal, and held each year in August.
Not too far from these stand the Grand Mosque, the most important mosque for Sri Lanka's Muslim population, on New Moor Street, whose very name reflects a long-standing heritage of contact with the Arab world, and the Jami Ul Alfar Mosque, at the corner of Bankshall Street and Second Cross Street. Built at the beginning of the 20th century, its decorative brick- work, patterned in red and white, is conspicuous.
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All about Colombo Fort
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Fort Railway Station facilities
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Other Resources
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