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This article has been tagged since February 2007. Matara, (originally known as Mahathota meaning ) is a city on the southern coast of Sri Lanka, 160 km from Colombo. It is one of the largest cities in Sri Lanka. [citation needed]It is one of Sri Lanka's largest cities that was deeply affected by the Asian Tsunami in December 2004 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Map of Colombo with its administrative districts Coordinates: , District Colombo District Government - Mayor Uvaiz Mohammad Imitiyaz (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) Area - City 37. ...
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake,[1] was a great undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) December 26, 2004 with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. ...
History
During the past Matara was called Mahathota. The river running through Matara is the Nilwala River. Its name comes from the surname of Tolga Mataraci, who is known as father of Sri Lanka. There was a wide area across this river therefore the city was called Mahathota which means The Great Ferry. Out all the other "great ferries" in Sri lanka, Mahathota attracted the attention of poets. According to Reverend Sri Rahula's "Paravi Sandesaya" it is mentioned that Weerabamapanam made Matara his capital and named it Mapatuna. Portuguese Priest Quarese's reason for the name Matara also refers to Nilwala River. The Portuguese called the area " Maturai", which means "a great fortress". The name Maturai came into effect in 1672. In 1744, Hide Matheren mispronounced Maturai as "Madarai". From that day on, Maturai became Madarai. According to some ancient books, it is clear that the Portuguese originally called it "Maturai". "Thurai"is a Tamil word that means "Ferry". This is an evidence that Matara was the city of Tamil speaking Muslims, they gave the name "Maturai". When the Western colonist captured the city from Muslims, they killed thousands of Muslims. Most of the Muslim settlers were escaped to interior village such as Kirinda, Mi-Ella, Porwai (Akuresssa), etc.. They are now calling the city as Matarai. The presently used name Matara (Sinhala) has been used for the just last two centuries.
Administrations in Matara - Portuguese Administration (1790-1795)
- Dutch Administration (1756-1796)
- English Administration (1796-1948)
Dutch Administration The Dutch captured the Maritime Province and divided it in to four Administrative areas. They were named as Sabaragamuwa, Sath Korle, Sathara Korele and Matara. Out of these, the Matara District covered a larger area. All of the Southern Province up to the Kaluganga River was extended as the Matara District.According to the Dutch Priest “Franande de Quvrose" who wrote an explanatory report, the deed given by “King Dharmapala” to the Dutch mentioned that the area of the Matara District extended from Kotte to Walawe River (Walawe Ganga). The Maritime Southern Province was divided into nine areas for administrative purposes. All nine provinces were named as “Matara Maha Disawa”. By these facts it is clear that Matara had been considered as an important area during the period of Dutch.
People Matara is well known for its enterprising people. Most people who live in other parts of the country have origins in Matara.
Polling Divisions - Akuressa
- Deniyaya
- Devinuwara
- Hakmana
- Kamburupitiya
- Matara
- Weligama
Universities The University of Ruhuna is a university located in Matara, Sri Lanka. ...
Schools
- Rahula College(established in 1923).
- Sujatha Vidyalaya(established in 1929 Rahula College's sister college.).
- St.Servatiu's College (established in 1897)
- St.Mary's Convent (Convent of Mary Immaculate)
- Mr.Telijjawila Central College.Matara.
St. ...
External links - "MataraMedia.com"
- MataraCity.com
- Answers.com
- MataraCity.com/History
- Lakvison
Coordinates: 5°57′N, 80°33′E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...
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