Building sights in Colombo
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St Anthony's Church
One of the city’s most interesting shrines is St Anthony’s Church. Outside it looks like a typical Portuguese Catholic church, but inside the atmosphere is distinctly subcontinental. There are queues of devotees offering puja(offerings or prayers) to a dozen ornate statues; a statue of St Anthony said to be endowed with miraculous qualities is the centre of devotions. Mothers often bring pubescent daughters here to pray for protection from evil spirits that might take advantage of the girls’ nascent sexuality. Photography is frowned upon.
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Sri Kailawasanathar Swami Devasthanam
Reportedly the oldest Hindu temple in Colombo, the Sri Kailawasanathar Swami Devasthanam has shrines to Shiva and Ganesh.
During the harvest festival of Thai Pongal (held in January) devotees flock to Hindu temples, which become even more colourful and lively.
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St Lucia's Cathedral
The enormous, late-19th-century St Lucia’s Cathedral lies in the Catholic heart of the Kotahena district. The biggest church in Sri Lanka, it can hold up to 5000 worshippers. The interior is plain but the immense domed mass of the church is impressive.
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B
Vajiraramaya Temple
The Vajiraramaya Temple has been a centre of Buddhist learning since 1901. From here monks have taken the Buddha's message to Western countries, and on Sundays the complex is thronged with thousands of children taking Buddhism school.
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C
St Peter's Church
Converted from the Dutch governor’s banquet hall, it was first used as a church in 1804.
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Old Town Hall
Colombo's white-domed Old Town Hall overlooks Viharamahadevi Park from the northeast.
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