CEYLON

CEYLON (British colony, now Sri Lanka).

Segiriya Rock and portrait of King George V.
Fifth stamp in a set of 13, issued on 01.02.1938.
Face value: 10 cents of Ceylon rupees.
Printing: Recess.
Size: 38 x 26 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 234Y.
- Scott No. 281.
- StampWorld No. 250.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 389.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 255.

Sigiriya (Sinhalese: සීගිරිය; Tamil: சிகிரியா) is a large rock column 349 m (1,145 ft) high, on top of which are the remains of an ancient citadel. It is located in the north of the Matale district, near the town of Dambulla (Central Province of Sri Lanka). It is popularly known as Sīnhāgiri (the Lion's Rock) since it was accessed through a door in the shape of a huge lion: there King Kashyapa I (477-495) had his new capital built, with a sumptuous palace. Then the place was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century. Sirigiya is one of the best preserved examples of ancient urbanism, and in 1982 it was included by UNESCO in the World Heritage list. The rock was discovered as an archaeological site in 1831 by Jonathan Forbes, a major in the British Army.

CEYLON

CEYLON (British colony, now Sri Lanka).

Adam's Peak, with the portrait of King George V.
Second stamp in a set of 13, issued in 1938.
Face value: 3 cents of Ceylon rupees.
Printing: Recess.
Printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson and De La Rue, London.
Size: 25 x 38 mm.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 231.
- Scott No. 279.
- StampWorld No. 247.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 387.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 239.

Adam's Peak is a 2,243 m (7,360 ft) high conical mountain located in central Sri Lanka island. Near its top is a 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) rock formation known to Sinhalese as Sri Pada ("holy footprint"), which Buddhist tradition considers the imprint of Buddha's left foot, Hindu tradition that of Hanuman or Shiva, and some Islamic and Christian traditions that of Adam, left when he stepped on Earth for the first time after being expelled from paradise. Marco Polo wrote in his Travels (1298 CE) that Adam's Peak was an important pilgrimage site, but did not mention the footprint in the rock. In 1344 CE, the Arab traveler Ibn Battuta climbed to the top of the mountain, which he called Sarandīb.