Moon Bastion

Moon Bastion Moon Bastion Moon Bastion

Moon bastions were built in 1667, after the Dutch capture of the Portuguese fort of Santa Cruz and the demolition of the original wooden palisade walls. Set into the ramparts between these two bastions is the New Gate, the main access between the modern city of Galle on the left, and the 16th century town within the fort, on the right.

There are three bastions within the Fort known then as Sao Lago (Sun Bastion), Middelpunt (Moon Bastion), and Zeepunt (Star Bastion). The British, who succeeded the Dutch, however, did not make use of the Moon Bastion.

Moon Bastion Moon Bastion Moon Bastion

About Galle District

Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo.Galle is the best example of a fortified city built by Europeans in south and Southeast Asia, showing the interaction between European architectural styles and south Asian traditions. The Galle fort is a world heritage site and the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers.

Galle is a sizeable town, by Sri Lankan standards, and has a population of 91,000, the majority of whom are of Sinhalese ethnicity. There is also a large Sri Lankan Moor minority, particularly in the fort area, which descend from Arab merchants that settled in the ancient port of Galle.

About Southern Province

The Southern Province of Sri Lanka is a small geographic area consisting of the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota. Subsistence farming and fishing is the main source of income for the vast majority of the people of this region.

Important landmarks of the Southern Province include the wildlife sanctuaries of the Yala and Udawalawe National Parks, the holy city of Kataragama, and the ancient cities of Tissamaharama, Kirinda and Galle. (Although Galle is an ancient city, almost nothing survives from before the Portuguese invasion.) During the Portuguese period there were two famous Sinhalese poets called Andare who was from Dickwella and Gajaman Nona who was from Denipitiya in Matara District, composing poems on common man.