
Marco polo described Sri Lanka as the best island of its size, the Arabs called it Serendib and the British, whose rule ended in 1948, simply called it Ceylon.
The 13th-century Venetian traveler Marco Polo described Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon, as being “for its size, better circumstanced than any island in the world”.
The Greeks called the island, Taprobane, to most Indians however it was simply referred to as Lanka, the land of the ferocious demon king Ravana. Sri Lanka is just slightly smaller than Ireland in size and has as many people as Australia some 2o million plus inhabitants.
Prior to the sad civil war, tourism promoters advertised the country, endowed with breathtaking natural beauty as a paradise on earth.
Philanthropic billionaire investor and early backer of president Barack Obama, George Soros famously opined “the most money is usually made when things in a country or market go from Terribly awful to just awful or just bad”.
Read Michael’s full article here.