As you walk around Beira Lake and the Seema Malaka Temple, you begin to enter Slave Island. Wikipedia, my trusty source for so much on this blog, says that this area is called Slave Island because many African slaves were held in this area under the Portuguese, Dutch and British.
Some of these African slaves stayed in Sri Lanka and formed the basis of the Kaffir ethnic group, creating their own language and cultural traditions. There are still small pockets of Kaffirs in Sri Lanka today, although their language and traditions are rapidly becoming extinct.
But I like Slave Island because it reminds me of Bangladesh. The people in this part of town are curious and friendly and I hear the faint sound of the call to prayer, which I love, from this part of town.
Selling snacks around Beira Lake. It was a bit cold that day. So to Sri Lankans, it was freezing.
Perhaps this map will help me learn where all of the districts in Sri Lanka are?
Tasty Snacks
Friendly Shop Keeper
Nearby Mosque
Adventures in Serendipity 
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