Galle Fort lighthouse marks the start of the journey for group of open water swimmers who regularly swim to Unawatuna Beach. One highlight of this 2.5 km event is passing by Jungle Beach, located just south of Bonavista Bay. An uphill walk through Rumassala Sanjeevani Mountain’s Sanctuary, passing by the Peace Pagoda donated by a Japanese Monk provides an ever-clearer view of the eclectic Closenberg hotel. Set on a peninsula, it hides the view of the Naval Dockyard and the largest fishing port in Sri Lanka’s south.
Trawlers deliver fresh fish from the Indian Ocean to the processing and freezer terminals. Destined for the markets European Union. Sri Lanka’s premium product is highly sought after by restaurants and wholesalers. Fish has been exported from Sri Lanka for centuries, using salt, sun, smoke and spices to preserve it for journeys along sea-lanes to the northern hemisphere.
Long an important source of protein in Sri Lanka, drying, salting, smoking and fermenting fish can be traced to the eastern Mediterranean shoreline from about 12,000 BC. The earliest known record of dried and salted fish have been found in clay pots Cadiz, an early Phoenician settlement. It is likely that Phoenician traders brought the skills with them, either to the coastal regions of Tamil Nadu where it is called karuvadu. In Portugal and Spain it is known as mojama (from the Arabic musama meaning dry) in other regions of Asia, the cultural and culinary exchange of traders formed strong links around the world.
Dried fish is prepared by sun drying it for several days. Various species of fish are sundried and storage timeline of these dried fishes varies from several months to years based on species. Salting and drying fish occurs in every continent, from ice-wind dried in the north, throughout Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania. Different types of fish determine the shelf-life and different salts alter the flavours, from salted cod to kippers.
The traditions of Sri Lankan culture that has adapted food preparation methods over centuries of trading with the world and being colonised by three major world powers are brought to life in the Well House Culinary Journey.
