Slave Island and the Lotus Tower
The name “Slave Island” was given during British colonisation and refers to the preceding Portuguese rule when slaves were held there, most of them from the Swahili coast and Portuguese East Africa. Today, Slave Island is an area of Colombo known for its Malay, Sinhalese and Tamil cultures.
Being driven home from the Galle Face, we timed it right to see the Lotus Tower briefly lit up in preparation for Tuesday’s Independence Day celebrations. Asking the driver to safely stop, I just had time to run back up the road and take a couple of handheld photos showing the architectural contrast before the lights were turned off. The street light was in an inconvenient place, but better to have the images anyway than not!
Steve