Sunday Times 2
Sri Lanka’s role as link between East and West on the Maritime Silk Road
View(s):- National Trust lecture
Dr Sanjiva Wijesinha will deliver this month’s National Trust lecture on “Sri Lanka and the Silk Road of the Sea” on Thursday, July 25 at 6 p.m. at the Auditorium of the College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka, No. 6, Independence Avenue, Colombo 7. The lecture is open to all. (Online: https://youtube.com/live/79hE0R0F9x4)
Foreign trade has been a prominent feature of Sri Lanka’s economy from ancient times. Our island, situated at the virtual mid-point of the maritime trade routes between West Europe and East Asia, was ideally located to become an important link in the network between East and West.
Weaving together information about Sri Lanka’s ancient harbours, our connections to the lands around the Indian Ocean and the seagoing craft that plied these trade routes, plus little known writings by travellers, historians and merchants, this illustrated lecture will focus on the important role that Sri Lanka played as a link between the East and the West on the Maritime Silk Road.
Dr Sanjiva Wijesinha worked as a paediatric surgeon in both Sri Lanka and Hong Kong and also as a family physician, Monash University professor and military medical officer in both Sri Lanka and Australia. His interest in the Silk Road and subsequent research originated from his participation in the 1990 UNESCO Silk Routes expedition.