Introduction and History

Sri Lanka's biggest city (one million plus population) holds less of obvious interest than many other parts of the island - but it's a colourful place and, as the country's political and economic centre. Colombo is by no means overwhelming and its centre (known as 'Fort', although there is little sign of that today) is distinctly handy and very easy to get around on foot. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life and colonial buildings and ruins and a city population of 647,100. The Colombo Metropolitan Region, defined by the districts of Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara, has an estimated population of 5,648,000, and covers an area of 3,694.20 km².
The name "Colombo", first introduced by the Portuguese in 1505, is believed to be derived from the classical Sinhalese name Kolon thota, meaning "port on the river Kelani. It has also been suggested that the name may be derived from the Sinhalese name Kola-amba-thota which means "Harbour with leafy mango trees".However, it is also possible that the Portuguese named the city after Christopher Columbus, the sailor who lived in Portugal for many years before discovering the Americas on behalf of the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. His Portuguese name is Cristóvão Colombo. Colombo set sail for to look for India westwards around the same time Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama set sail eastwards, landing at the Port of Calicut in India on 20 May 1498. Colombo discovered the Americas six years before that on 12 October 1492 and was already a famed sailor and explorer, celebrated both in Portugal  and Spain by the time Dom Lourenco de Almeida accidently landed in the port of Galle in 1505.
History
As Colombo possesses a natural harbour, it was known to Romans, Arabs, and Chinese traders over 2,000 years ago. Traveller Ibn Batuta who visited the island in the 14th century, referred to it as Kalanpu. Arab Muslims whose prime interests were trade, began to settle in Colombo around the 8th century AD mostly because the port helped their business and controlled much of the trade between the Sinhalese kingdoms and the outside world. Their descendants now comprise the local Sri Lankan Moor community.
Orientation
Colombo is divided into 15 numbered ares for the purposes of postal services. Within these areas are the suburbs with their corresponding post office.



Postal zones Suburbs




1                        Fort




2                        Slave Island and Union Place




3                        Kollupitiya




4                        Bambalapitiya




5                        Havelock Town and Kirillapone




6                        Wellawatta and Pamankada




7                        Cinnamon Gardens




8                        Borella




9                        Dematagoda




10                      Maradana an Panchilawatte




11                      Pettah




12                      Hulftsdorf




13                      Kotahena and Bloemandhal




14                      Grandppass




15                      Mutwal, Mattakkuliya and Madampitiya