Sammanthurai
| Sammanthurai සමන්තුරේ சம்மாந்துறை |
|
|---|---|
| Town | |
Sammanthurai Clock Tower
|
|
 Sammanthurai
සමන්තුරේ சம்மாந்துறை |
|
| Coordinates: 7°22′0″N 81°48′0″E / 7.36667°N 81.80000°ECoordinates: 7°22′0″N 81°48′0″E / 7.36667°N 81.80000°E | |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Province | Eastern |
| District | Ampara |
| DS Division | Sammanthurai Divisional Secretariat |
| Population | 60,601 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Pradeshiya Sabha |
| • Chairman | A. M. M. Naushad (UPFA) |
| Time zone | Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone (UTC+5:30) |
| Postal code | 32200 |
| Area code(s) | 067 |
Sammanthurai (Tamil: சம்மாந்துறை, Sinhalese: සමන්තුරේ), is a town in Ampara District of Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Sammanthurai situated at 7°22′0″N 81°48′0″E / 7.36667°N 81.80000°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's 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.
Sammanthurai has a population of 60,601, with a majority of Sri Lankan Moors (Muslim) ethnicity. There is a small Sri Lankan Hindu Tamil minority, particularly in the Veeramunai area. The majority are Tamil speaking Muslims and a few speak Sinhala and English. Sammanthurai is home to many victims of the tsunami of 2004.
...
Wikipedia