History

Maradana’s infamous fame It is said that Maradana got its name from Maran-stan which is Tamil for “place of trees” which with time turned into Maran-dhan or Maradana. During the Dutch period the first cinnamon cultivation was in Maradana. It is recorded that in 1789 the Disave of Colombo, Cornelis de Cock, was responsible for laying out the first cinnamon …

The Moors of Sri Lanka hark back to early Arab traders, everyone knows that. But the story is actually much more complex and interesting. Like any historical narrative, tradition or well known fact, the idea that Sri Lankan Moors are somehow descendants from Arab traders becomes multi-faceted when you start zooming in on it with a keen historian’s eye*. Arabs …