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• Amazing Facts About Sri Lanka Bhuneshsir • Amazing Facts about Sri Lanka https://t.me/CurrentAffairsby BhuneshSir • BASIC INFO • Sri Lanka officially name Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. • An island country in South Asia. • Located in the Indian Ocean to the southwest of the Bay of Bengal and to the southeast of the Arabian Sea. • The island is geographically separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. • Official languages: Sinhala; Tamil • Largest city: Colombo • Capitals: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte • Currency: Sri Lankan rupee • President: Gotabaya Rajapaksa • Prime minister: Mahinda Rajapaksa 1) All the money is different First notes were issued by The Government of Ceylon in 1895. You think, wait a minute, how come such old notes are still in use? Well, the Government of Ceylon was issuing money till 1949, so it makes more sense when you come across those old notes. 1951 the Central Bank of Ceylon took over money printing task, and they realised a new tranche of notes. And finally, from 1977 banknotes are issued by Central Bank of Sri Lanka. • 2) • The Sri Lankan national flag is one of the oldest in the world • The Flag of Sri Lanka, also known as Lion Flag, is considered one of the world's oldest, dating back to 162 BC. It is also thought to be the only flag in the world to recognize different religious beliefs, with the bo leaves representing Buddhism, orange standing for Hinduism, and green for Islam. • 3) • It has the highest literacy rate in South Asia, Sri Lanka attaches great importance to education and makes it a fundamental right in its Constitution. The country is said to have a literacy rate of 92%, making it the highest in South Asia as well as one of the highest in Asia. • 4) • One of the more racy facts about Sri Lanka is that the country searches Google for the word ‘sex’ more than any other country in the world, bar Bangladesh and Ethiopia. • 5) • One of Buddha's Teeth is housed in a temple in Kandy. • A sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha, brought from India in the 4th century CE, is still preserved in the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy. • 6) • It is the first country in the world to have a female prime minister • In July 1960, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the leader of Sri Lanka Freedom Party, won the victory in the general election and became the first woman prime minister in the world. • 7) • It is home to the world's oldest human-planted tree • The oldest tree planted by the human is in Anuradhapura, one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka. It is a sacred fig aged 2,300 years old and called Sri Maha Bodhiya. • The tree was planted in 288 BC. • 8) Volleyball is the national sport of Sri Lanka • Though the most popular sport in the country is cricket, it is volleyball that was made the national sport. Sri Lanka introduced the game in 1916 and it gained tremendous popularity in a few years. In 1951, the Volleyball Federation was established and it was officially declared the national game of Sri Lanka in 1991. • 9) Not every hotel is for an overnight stay • When traveling across Sri Lanka, you may see signs saying "hotel", but it may not be a place to stay overnight as it is common for restaurants, cafes, and bars to be named as hotels. The exact reason for this is not known. If you ask locals, they would probably say it is just a cool thing to do. This could be misleading. So to find out whether it is a hotel or a restaurant, you might need to check whether it serves food or there is room for the night. • 10 ) • It is a place where locals shake their head to agree • In most cultures, one nods one's head to show consent and says no with the shaking of their head. That is not the case in Sri Lanka. • When meaning yes, people of the island nation actually shake their head from side to side. It can be confusing for most foreign visitors, but they'll get used to it. .
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