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Ceylon Revisited Ceylon 1/26/09 9:11:31 AM 9:11:31 1/26/09 1 l5.indd 2 Option FEB @DOTWNEWS October 2012 THE SUGAR ISLES SALVATORE FERRAGAMO Five romantic escapes Michele Norsa's global perspective VANCOUVER THAILAND Climb, paddle and dine Riverside in Bangkok GOOD TASTE NEW IN TOWN Gordon Ramsay in Doha The latest luxury openings Ceylon revisited Explore Sri Lanka's colonial heritage in the land of Serendib LIVE A LITTLE EAST COAST UAE FOUR WHEELS Voyages of a lifetime Testing the Audi A5 Cabriolet The latest luxury car launches Sri Lanka Explore CEYLON REVISITED From the ancient mansions of Colombo and the walled city of Galle Fort to the planter’s bungalows of Hill Country, the legacy of Sri Lanka’s colonial era remains a fundamental part of its identity WORDS: Joe Mortimer dotwnews.com October 2012 53 Sri Lanka Explore Photo: Amanresorts Photo: Amangalla The hotel is one of the most storied buildings in Galle Fort If walls could talk ou have to admire the Amangalla became the Dutch. In 1640 a fleet of Oriental Hotel in 1863 12 Dutch ships laid siege to the Portuguese fort at YGalle, in what was then Ceylon, and eventually claimed victory after a long and bloody battle. In order to reach the fort, they had to negotiate perilous rocks, hidden reefs and crashing waves, not to mention the Portuguese cannons and muskets. Standing on the ramparts of the old fort on a gusty afternoon in late August, with waves pounding the rocky outcrops and warm winds churning up the surf, it seems a miracle that they even made it to shore. The Dutch victory in Galle marked the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship between northern Europe and Ceylon, one that would see Dutch, and then, from 1796, English influence affect everything from architecture and design to religion and agriculture. It is largely thanks to the enduring influence of these two once-mighty empires that Sri Lanka remains so charming today. My mission was to follow in the footsteps of the European buccaneers who called Ceylon their home, to try to recapture a fleeting sense of the colonial era. I also wanted to find out just what it is about Sri Lanka that led early Arabs explorers to call it ‘Serendib’; a word that later evolved Photo: Amanresorts Photo: into serendipity. 54 October 2012 dotwnews.com dotwnews.com October 2012 55 Photo: Joe Mortimer Photo: “Schoolgirls skip hand in hand along the walls, groups of boys play cricket on the Army Camp, and couples walk arm in arm, stopping to gaze at the crashing waves and take photos of the lighthouse” Galle Library (left) Sri Lanka’s oldest library is home to a musty collection of books left by centuries of visitors British Lighthouse (right) One of the most enduing images of the British colonial period is the lighthouse at Point Utrecht Warleigh Church (below) The 19th century church in the highlands still conducts religious services in English The journey starts in Galle Fort, because the Filled with original antique furniture, the Like Amangalla, Galle Fort also fell The Historical Mansion, one of the In the late afternoon, the fort’s An unhurried dinner on the UNESCO World Heritage Site was the seat library is home to a collection of books and asleep when the seat of power and trade in oldest homes in the fort, underwent inhabitants gather and stroll on the magnificent terrace of the hotel is a of colonial power in Sri Lanka for more than photographs chronicling the history of Galle Ceylon moved from Galle to Colombo in a major renovation when it was 400-year-old ramparts, which connect lesson in colonial excess. I’m brought 400 years. I then plan to continue east along and Amangalla, and a small area dedicated to the mid-1800s and was largely forgotten taken over by businessman and 14 fortified bastions, mostly built by a traditional 11-course Sri Lankan what has to be one of the most underrated the life of Nesta Brohier, whose family owned until it was given UNESCO heritage status philanthropist MHA Gaffar in 1992, the Dutch. Today, schoolgirls skip curry, served, I’m told, as Sri Lankan coastlines in the world, before heading inland the New Oriental Hotel from 1899 until in 1992. This opened the doors to extensive but portions of the original 18th hand in hand along the walls, groups families would eat in their own up to Hill Country, where Sri Lanka’s world- 2001, when Amanresorts bought the estate. renovation and restoration projects century clay and coral wall remain. of boys play cricket on the Army homes. The meal is a riot of flavour renowned tea industry was born in 1867. “I walked into the building in 1998 and carried out under the auspices of the Galle The building is now home to the Camp, and couples walk arm in arm, – an endless experiment in different One of the best places to soak up the fell in love with it,” says Olivia Richli, Heritage Foundation, which is now based owner’s antiques trove, an impressive stopping to gaze at the crashing waves combinations of spices and textures. history of Galle Fort is the library at the general manager of Amangalla. “It was a in the old hospital, where visitors can see a collection of everything from ancient and take photos of the lighthouse. The next morning, I have just charming Amangalla hotel, perhaps the most sleeping beauty that had been asleep for 100 scale model of the city. Dutch coins bearing the VOC emblem For a different perspective, the enough time to check out two boutique storied building within the fort walls. Built in years. Back then, you couldn’t find a decent Today, quiet alleyways with names of the Dutch East India Company to a second-floor terrace of Amangalla hotels. Guests at the Galle Fort Hotel 1684, the property started out as two separate cup of coffee in town.” like Church Street, Hospital Road and collection of 1960s LPs. is a great spot to take in the view enjoy breakfast around a small pool houses before it was turned into the Dutch Original mosaic flooring covers the terrace Lighthouse Street are like a living museum, It’s also a great place to buy of the red-roofed city, preferably surrounded by the property’s 12 suites, Military Officers’ headquarters. The building leading into the Zaal, or Great Hall, as the with ancient colonial buildings crowding antique jewellery, but certainly not accompanied by a sundowner; my as GM Oliver James walks me through swapped its military inhabitants for paying lobby is known. High ceilings, whitewashed the roads. In Olanda Antiques, on Leyn the only place in town to do so. Sri whisky sour is tempered with lentil, the courtyard pointing out the original customers in 1863, when it was bought by a walls and an ocean breeze keep the tropical Baan Street, you can shuffle along the aisles Lanka is famed for its gemstones, curry leaf and garlic wade (a deep- architectural elements. Nearby, The group of English businessmen who turned heat at bay, so there’s no need for air of ancient wooden furniture and shop for particularly the coveted Sri Lankan fried Sri Lankan snack) and slices of Fort Printers hotel occupies an 18th it into the Oriental Hotel, one of more than conditioning. A collection of period furniture that perfect centrepiece for your home – sapphires and diamonds, and the dried coconut. As I sip my drink I century building that has been home to a dozen hotels in the fort that did a brisk includes planters’ chairs and other collectibles perhaps an 80-year-old billiard table or a Fort is home to more than 50 slip into reverie, floating out across the Bank of Ceylon, Mahinda College business providing accommodation for the like pettagamas (sea chests), almirahs and a 24-foot Sri Lankan fishing canoe. No need to jewellery shops selling everything the red roofs of the fort; the Dutch and, until 2002, the Fort Printers, merchants, traders and diplomats who came 19th century wrought-iron safe that required worry about packing – the owners can ship from vintage pieces to funky modern commander surveying his territory as whose wrought-iron press is the centre to Galle to trade spices, silks and gemstones. 18 people to haul out from the back office. anything to wherever you call home. designs and individual stones. night falls like an English cannonball. of the minimal lobby. 56 October 2012 dotwnews.com Sri Lanka Explore INTO HILL COUNTRY The Great Hall “Castlereagh Bungalow was built in Later, I take a seat on the terrace to (above) When the European settlers had Amangalla’s lobby 1925. I lived there for two years when soak in the emerald sea of tea plants TSUNAMI AMANGALLA made themselves at home in Ceylon, is the epitope of I was manager of the estate, before all around me, and the tall eucalyptus, they started moving inland and began colonial luxury we converted all four bungalows cypress and palm trees in the curiously Amanresorts managed the New Oriental Hotel setting up rubber plantations and into what you see now, in 2005,” he English garden. The small swimming from 1995 until 2003, when it closed down for Planter’s Life spice gardens, before the English (opposite page) explains. “We have created five- pool surrounded by sun loungers used extensive renovation. It reopened as Amangalla on realised the lucrative potential of Castlereagh bungalow star comfort but they still have the to be a pond, says manager Chaminda December 11, 2004, just 15 days before the Indian coffee.
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