Tarawa (CVA 40) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 68 text:

i l l l l il, il l l l l l l l l 1 4 I l ' 4 l 'i ,JN i I I - L I 1 I i i l right Hindu residential area. above K View overlooking the harbor. Colombo's principal exports are tea, rubber, copra and cinnamon. X 1 , x left. ' , Moslem merchant.

Page 67 text:

The route that the Tarawalollowed across the Indian 'Ocean has been a familiar one to East-West traders for years. Perhaps the first travelers of this route were Arab merchants who in the 6th and 7th centuries B.C. ioined up in Colombo with Chinese tradesmen bringing wares from Southern China. Through the years the continued im- portance of Colombo as a midpoint between East and West has made her a stage on which the principal actors have changed many times. The imprint made by these successive dominant powers has been distinct. The islamic trader of yesterday lives on today in the great number of Moslems who comprise Colombo's merchants. To the missionary zeal of the Portuguese T565-16585 Colombo traces her 20,000 Christians. From the days of Dutch control H658-1796i came the wiclespread cultivation of tea in nearby hills, and the introduction of Dutch-Roman law codes which still form the basis of her civil law. In T796 the Dutch were superceded by the English. The British set up the parliamentary and electoral systern that has governed Ceylon from Colombo since 1948. The English are also responsible for the modernization of Colombo's buildings Gnd business techniques. In the following photographs of Colombo it is possible to trace some of these heritages.

Page 69 text:

obove Ceylonese men woshing their cottlelin o river outside of Colombo. left Stotues of Bucldoh Cunder porosolj ond his disciples. A bottom left Climbing for coconuts. Q f' 3. A Yfcp' X oy 65