Greetings from Sri Lanka
Jaffna’s clock tower and statues of Tamil kings
Jaffna’s clock tower was built to commemorate the visit of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales to Ceylon in 1875. It was funded with the residue of money collected to present him with a gift of a silver casket and set of jewels, and was completed in 1882. In addition to telling the time in its early years it functioned as a lighthouse to guide ships in the Indian Ocean.
The tower was badly damaged during the civil war in the late 1980s. When Prince Charles (now King Charles) visited Sri Lanka in 1998 he offered British assistance in restoring the tower. It reopened in 2002, and in 2013 three golden statues of Tamil kings were added to enhance the surrounding area.
32 Comments
wetanddustyroads
A clock and a lighthouse – that’s clever. And not just any statues, but golden statues š.
Sarah Wilkie
We saw quite a few golden statues in Sri Lanka, they seem to like them!
equinoxio21
Reminds me of my parents trip to Ceylon back in 1952… It’s been a while. Enjoy Sri Lanka/Ceylon.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you š Do you have family movies from that visit?
equinoxio21
Yes, I do. I wasn’t born yet, but I have posted a few. Lemme look for the links…
equinoxio21
There you are: Ceylon part 1:
https://equinoxio21.wordpress.com/2024/09/19/ceylon-sri-lanka-1953/
Sarah Wilkie
I’ll check them all out when I get home – thanks š
equinoxio21
Part 2:
https://equinoxio21.wordpress.com/2024/10/15/ceylon-sri-lanka-1953-part-2/
equinoxio21
And part 3:
https://equinoxio21.wordpress.com/2024/11/21/ceylon-sri-lanka-1953-2/
equinoxio21
You’ve probably been in Colombo, though I doubt there are still rickshaws…
Sarah Wilkie
Apart from the airport no, amd tuk tuks are now the vehicle of choice in most parts š
equinoxio21
Tuk tuks are all over Asia I guess. Simple and cheap…
Christie
Enjoy the rest of your trip, Sarah!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you š
grandmisadventures
Beautiful detail on the top of the clock tower- also I love that it was used as a lighthouse too
Sarah Wilkie
I liked that about it too Meg š
Marie
We didn’t go beyond Anuradhapura so interested in your travels further north….
Sarah Wilkie
Jaffna was the only place we visited north of there. We were supposed to enjoy a train ride up through the country but Sri Lanka’s railway engineers had other ideas and closed the entire line for a week! But I’m glad we went as it was an interesting contrast to the rest of the country.
Marie
Ah the train would have been great…
Rebecca
Glad you had a good time in Sri Lanka! It’s a part of the world I’ve yet to visit some day. The clock tower is impressive, but also a reminder of the not-so-great colonial past. Thanks for sharing, Sarah!
Sarah Wilkie
Oh we’re still here (one more week) and having a great time! I found it interesting that they were keen to restore something that harked back to the days of colonialism but also to complement it with reminders of a much older past.
Annie Berger
Beautiful! Interesting that Prince Charles committed to funding it’s restoration, Sarah.
Sarah Wilkie
Probably the least he could do given ourpast history here!
Annie Berger
Indeed, Sarah. Didn’t realize there was an inadvertent apostrophe in “it’s!” Obviously, a mistake on my part.
Sarah Wilkie
Oh we all make typos in our comments! Look at the lack of space between ‘our’ and ‘past’ in my reply to yours š
Annie Berger
Ha ha!!
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
Just what he needed, Iām sure – more jewels! Still – nice looking tower.
Sarah Wilkie
Indeed – but what do you give the man who has everything?!
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
Even more of everything it seems!
Sue
Interesting history
Sarah Wilkie
Like so much of this country!
Sue
I’m sure….and not all good