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From
time immemorial the island has been subjected to many
different influences, both occidental and oriental.
Consequently this small island state contains an
exotic mixture of languages, cultures and religions. The few
thousand Veddhas who live in remote jungle areas are the
descendants of the original inhabitants. The majority of the
population are descendants of the Aryan tribes that came from
North India over 2'000 years ago. Sub-sequent Dravidian
invasions and Arab migrations have created a wonderful
cosmopolitan society.
The
island has been known by a variety of names, a list which is
as varied as its his-torical influences. More than 2000 years
ago the famous Indian epic "Ramayana" told of
misdeedsof the wicked king of Lanka. The Dravids called the
isle Ilankai; to the old Greeks and the Romans it was known as
Taprobane; the Arabic merchants called it Serendib; the
Portuguese Ceiloa; the Dutch changed the name into Ceylan, and
the British to Ceylon.The Republic of Sri Lanka was born in
1972, the prefix "Sri" is Sanskrit in origin and
means resplendent.
In
1867 the first tea plants arrived from India, and prospered
extremely well in the highlands. As a result
the more resistant tea bushes replaced the susceptible coffee
cultures. For more than a century tea became the most
important export product. Ceylon Tea is today well known by
tea-connoisseurs and tea-lovers, and in 1972 this persuaded
the government, to retain the brand name "Ceylon
Tea" and not to market it as "Sri Lanka Tea".
Singhalese
or Tamil is only spoken in Sri Lankans but born after
independence who only speak English and not Singalese or
Tamil.
Climate
and travelling season
As
Sri Lanka is situated between six and ten degrees north of the
equator, the average temperature is quite high. The average
medium temperature fluctuates between 27° and 29° C. As the
island is not very wide, the sea-winds can exert a moderating
influence. The central mountain region has naturally lower
temperatures. The mercury drops ½° C. for every 100 m. The
mountain resort town of Nuwara Eliya situated at about 2000 m
experiences frost on some nights in December and January and
the annual average temperature is below 20° C. In general the
relative humidity fluctuates in between 70% for the day and
90% at night.
Currency
The
Sri Lanka Rupee (SLRs) is devided into 100 cents. Coins are
minted into domination of 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents and 1, 2, 5
and 10 rupees. There are notes of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and
1000 rupees. 100 rupees are equal to about US $ 1.25.
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