Slave Island

Station Passage, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Just east of Galle Face Green is yet another vestige of Colombo’s colonial past. Slave Island is surrounded by Beira Lake on all sides but one and is where Portuguese and Dutch colonialists held African slaves brought to the city to build the fort. (Crocodiles were reputedly kept in the lake to discourage any escape attempts.) The island is also home to the ornate Hindu temple of Sri Siva Subramaniya Kovil.

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Slave Island

Just east of Galle Face Green is yet another vestige of Colombo’s colonial past. Slave Island is surrounded by Beira Lake on all sides but one and is where Portuguese and Dutch colonialists held African slaves brought to the city to build the fort. (Crocodiles were reputedly kept in the lake to discourage any escape attempts.) The island is also home to the ornate Hindu temple of Sri Siva Subramaniya Kovil.

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