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The Great Days of Colombo is by far the most comprehensive work on the City of Colombo. This profusely illustrated work running to over 800 pages tells the story of how Colombo originated from very humble beginnings as a simple Moorish port to become what it is today, a bustling city full of life and colour.
The evolution of the city is traced in much detail and its rich history vividly described replete with fascinating stories coming down from colonial times. Colombo was in a sense a meeting point of East and West and a melting pot which attracted peoples of many nations to come hither and call home. The story of Colombo is in short the story of a modern nation in the making. The Great Days of Colombo brings this out vividly.
Besides the city as a whole, the book focuses on each zone of Colombo dedicating a chapter to each, covering the growth and evolution of that particular zone over time. Among other things, it traces the origins of place names and street names and covers the main landmarks of each zone as well as businesses and prominent residences. Boxed portions in each chapter bring out the more interesting facets of Colombo that should interest the reader and take him or her down Memory Lane with all too familiar places which we often take for granted, some sadly no longer existing.
The work is profusely illustrated with over 800 rare, vintage monochrome and colour photographs including by renowned photographers like Stephen Owens and Dominic Sansoni, numerous sketches, paintings and artists impressions that add to the great story that is Colombo.
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ALSO NOTE
Michael Roberts: “The Hegemony of Colombo from Way Back,” 20 May 2021 ….,” https://thuppahis.com/2021/05/10/the-hegemony-of-colombo-from-way-back/
David Sansoni: “Traversing the Port of Colombo: ‘Fridaying and All That,” 19 July 2023, https://thuppahis.com/2023/07/19/traversing-the-port-of-colombo-fridaying-and-all-that/
Narme F. Wickremesinghe: “How the War Memorial in Colombo Came Into Being,” 18 May 2023, https://thuppahis.com/2023/05/18/how-the-war-memorial-in-colombo-came-into-being/
Ron Slee: “Heavenly bliss in Sri Lanka: holdiaying in Galle & Colombo, 24 July-$ August 2023,” https://thuppahis.com/2023/11/16/heavenly-bliss-in-sri-lanka-holidaying-in-galle-colombo-24-july-4-august-2023/
