POSTCARD N.122 - SRI LANKA

Postcard sent on the 4th November; received on the 15th November 2023

Postcard image: Dutch Fort and Galle city (17th century A.D.)
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Getting to know the world through postcards... Yes, today there are more expedite ways of showing our neck of the woods to somone who lives thousands of kilometres away, but interesting as they might be, they will never replace the pleasure of finding a picture postcard with a nice stamp in a letterbox, with a photo of a place that makes you want to go there the very same moment.

That's what Ravindra’s postcard did to me.... a fortress by the sea, a World heritage Site, what's not to like...? If only I had wings 😀.

Thanks a lot Ravindra!, really interesting postcard

I confess my ignorance. I had never heard of Galle city or the Dutch fort, so, as usual, impelled by the image I went and did some looking up....and the Dutch fort was originally built by... The Portuguese.., in 1588, before being taken on by the Dutch in 1640, curiously the same year when we regained our independence from Spain after being ruled by Spanish kings for 60 years. I also found that Galle (a name which might derive from the Portuguese "Galo" - rooster) was the place where the Portuguese first set foot in Sri Lankan soil.... and that the city today  has a multi-ethnic and multi-religious population. Also, according to Wikipedia "The fort area is occupied by mostly artists, writers, photographers, designers and poets of foreign origin and is now a mixed bag of boutiques, hotels and restaurants"....

All this make me go and visit even more....

Stamps

- I also did now know what the legend on the large 50 Rupee stamp - National Meelad-Un-Nabi 2023 - issued on 22OCT2023, stood for, even though I was suspicious that it might be related to religion since the stamp is illustrated with images of building that I take to be mosques.  So I searched and I came across this site which clarified that "Muslims belonging to the Sufi or the Barelvi school of thought celebrate the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad, as Eid Milad-un-Nabi, also known as Eid-e-Milad, also called Nabid and Mawlid in colloquial Arabic. The celebration occurs during Rabi’ al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar."

I tried to find information as to what mosques were depicted on the stamp but was not successful in my search.

- World Post Day is celebrated by UPU members on the 9th October. The circular 15 Rupee stamp, issued appropriately on 09OCT2021, is Sri Lanka Post commemorative issue for World Post Day 2021.

- The 5 Rupee stamp was issued on 26MAY2012, on the occasion of the 225th anniversary of  Saint Philip Neri's Church, at Udammita South, Ja-ela.  I could not find any relevant information about this Roman Catholic church, but as much as Galle city on the postcard image seems to an example of multi-culturalism and people of different creeds living together in harmony, so is my postcard: Mosques, a Church and a World Day of an organisation which claims to be nothing short of "Universal", here's a perfect example of what the world is lacking the most today: harmony in difference and common sense!

A usual with Ravindra's mail the postmark hails from Colombo's central PO.