Delft Beach
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| Beautiful beach and a pretty smile |
There are a thousand of seashells lies all over the beach. Gathering the beautiful and colourful seashells is really enjoyable. Before nearly 500 years ago, there were a lot of pearl oysters around the island, but it was the Portuguese who plunked almost every pearl in their ruling period. Anyhow still the sea is enjoyable. It feels fantastic to be in such a lovable place and being among such a lovable people. I Love Delft guys.
Dutch
Hospital
The Dutch
hospital is located very near to the Dove cage. There is a kind of funny facts
here. Although all the places in the island are named with a prefix ‘Dutch’,
the real builders are not Dutch. It’s Portuguese. Before the appearance of
Dutch, Portuguese were the established armed forces in the coastal area around
Sri Lanka. The native resistance was so powerful in the middle of the country.
But due to the lack of Navy power, the Portuguese were well established around
the coastal side. So, the king of Sri Lanka looked for a helping hand of nation
with a Navy power to defeat the invader. Finally Dutch accepted to help the
natives of Sri Lanka and with the help of Dutch, Sinhala king was succeeded in
defeating the invaders. But things went wrong after the defeat of Portuguese.
Dutch broke the deal and refused to hand over the coastal area of the country
and they started to rule the area. There is a saying among the people ‘Taking chili
by giving ginger’.
Anyhow the
fact is after the Portuguese, Dutch took control every land that was ruled by
Portuguese. Just like the Jaffna fort, the Dutch hospital was originally built
by Portuguese, but the architecture and design were changed according to Dutch
system. Therefore, the hospital is called as Dutch hospital. The hospital was
used for leprosy patients. In a century ago leprosy was a terrifying disease.
The infected people were quarantined forcefully, and they were separated from
the village. It was highly spreadable
and that time no cure for leprosy. So, Delft was considered as a best place to
keep the infected persons. This Dutch hospital was the home for many leprosies
infected patients. Now, it is another archaeologic destination in Delft. They
came, stayed and finally someone cured, and someone died.
Delft Fort
I am here looking at another fort. Yes, another Dutch Fort that built by Portuguese. Portuguese built the fort to face the enemy attack. But after the successful invasion of Dutch, they reconstructed the fort according to Dutch architecture. The island is located in a strategic point in Poak strait between India and Sri Lanka. Hence the fort of Delft played a key role to defend sea-borne attacks. In this fort, the prisoners chamber was really different as well as unique. Here the chamber is really small and located under the floor level. The chambers were dug deep and they had no door, window or kind of ladder. Climbing through a rope was only possible way to get out of the jail. The prisoners were pushed down into the jail and thy were provided with food and water. Most of the prisoners met their death inside the chamber for God’s sake. The shape and architecture and the technology of this coral stone have made a significant different while comparing the other Dutch forts. When you are in the top of the fort, you cn easily see the whole island. But due to the lack of attention from the authorities and the other reasons, the place has not been got preserved well. Only the ruins of a great and proud fort are left. But still, it is worth to watch.
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| Dutch Fort in Delft |
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