Theme Week Sri Lanka – Mannar

Friday, 26 September 2025 - 12:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General
Reading Time:  3 minutes

© flickr.com - Adam Jones/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – Adam Jones/cc-by-sa-2.0

Mannar (Tamil: Maṉṉār; Sinhala: Mannārama, formerly spelled Manar) is the main town of Mannar District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by an Urban Council. The town is located on Mannar Island overlooking the Gulf of Mannar and is home to the historic Ketheeswaram temple. In the Tamil language, Mannar means the raised place [of sand] which is thought to have come from the geology of Mannar Island which was formed by the accumulation of sand.

Formerly the town was renowned as a centre of pearl fishing, mentioned in the 2nd-century CE Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.

© Kantharajah Poovarasan/cc-by-sa-4.0 Shell Coast Resort © panoramio.com - ALHATHIR/cc-by-sa-3.0 St Sebastian's Cathedral © flickr.com - Adam Jones/cc-by-sa-2.0 Mannar Lighthouse © flickr.com - Adam Jones/-cc-by-sa-2.0 © flickr.com - Adam Jones/cc-by-sa-2.0 Massive baobab tree-planted by Arab traders in 1477 © flickr.com - David Stanley/cc-by-2.0
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Massive baobab tree-planted by Arab traders in 1477 © flickr.com - David Stanley/cc-by-2.0
Mannar is known for its baobab trees and for its fort, built by the Portuguese in 1560 and taken by the Dutch in 1658 and rebuilt; its ramparts and bastions are intact, though the interior is largely destroyed.

Visually, the modern town is dominated by its churches, Hindu temples and mosques. The Catholic Church has a diocese headquartered in the town. By rail the town is connected to the rest of Sri Lanka by the Mannar Line. It was under the control of LTTE during Sri Lankan Civil War between 1983 and 2009.

Here you can find the complete Overview of all Theme Weeks.

Read more on Wikivoyage Mannar and Wikipedia Mannar. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




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