Sammanthurai (Tamil: சம்மாந்துறை, Sinhala:සම්මාන්තුරේ) is a town in Ampara District of Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Sammanthurai situated at 7°22′0″N 81°48′0″E, is 4.8 km west of the Bay of Bengal coast. It lies between the towns of Ampara and Karaitivu along the A31 road. It is surrounded by paddy fields and it is renowned for its rice paddies and its inner harbour from ancient times. Sammanthurai is the birthplace of M. H. M. Ashraff, known as "The Kingmaker" and the founder of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress political party.
Sammanthurai is an important and historical place of Sri Lanka. It was the first place where Dutch people arrived in Sri Lanka. Sammanthurai derives its name from ‘Sampan,’ the vessel, Thurai , the Harbor or port and the sailor of Sampan called as 'Hambankaraya' (Sinhala) or ‘Sammankaran’(Tamil) who were Muslims from India who came for the trade.
About Ampara District
Ampara District is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second-level administrative divisions of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The capital of the district is the town of Ampara. The district was carved out of the southern part of Batticaloa District in April 1961.
About Eastern Province
Another province of Sri Lanka mostly known for its golden beaches and the natural harbour, the Eastern Province which is 9,996 km2 in extent consists of three administrative districts namely Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was temporarily merged with the Northern Province to form the North-East Province. However, the North-East Province North-East Province was formally de-merged into the Northern and Eastern provinces on 1″ January 2007 according to a ruling of the Supreme Court.
【Text by Lakpura™. Images by Google, copyright(s)
reserved by original authors.】
