The presidential republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala ශ්රී ලංකා ප්රජාතාන්ත්රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජය) in South Asia with the capital Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (but de facto this is Colombo) covers 65.610 km². The island state lies in the Indian Ocean to the east of the southern tip of India. The name means something like "honourable island"; until 1972 it was called Ceylon.
History
Sri Lanka was ruled by various local kingdoms for over two millennia, until large parts of the island were colonised by the Portuguese in the 16th century and then by the Dutch. In 1815, the whole of Sri Lanka became part of the British Empire. In 1948, Sri Lanka became independent from Great Britain after peaceful negotiations.
Viticulture
Sri Lanka is best known for the production and export of tea (Ceylon), coffee, rubber and coconuts. The island is a popular tourist destination due to its scenic beauty and rich cultural heritage. Despite the tropical climate with high heat and humidity, attempts are being made to cultivate vines here. The Cardinal and Muscat d'Hamburg grape varieties are used for this. There are two harvests a year. The wines are mostly sweet. On the Jaffna peninsula, there is a red spiced wine produced by nuns. The producer Home Delight Wines in Wattala (a large suburb of Colombo) produces herbal wines and fruit wines. Table grapes are also produced. The standard alcoholic drink is arrack; Sri Lanke is one of the world's largest producers of this spirit.
Map: © Goruma
Flag: Public domain, Link
Coat of arms: by Tonyjeff, Public domain, Link
