Gems on Display

Ratnapura and Sinharajah

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January 20th 2006
THROUGH RATNAPURA TO SINHARAJAH Morning found us loading our gear, and facing another long bus ride. Siri met us with a box breakfast, and we bid him a fond farewell. No mango ice cream in the boxes though. Shame. I suppose it would have melted. Our first target destination was Ratnapura, which is one of many gem mining areas in Sri Lanka. We had hoped to "observe gem mining" at ... read more

Asia » Sri Lanka

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The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa... ... read more