This is our entry in The Daily Post Photo Challenge: Story.
Galle Fort in southwest Sri Lanka is a Portuguese/Dutch fort in the Bay of Galle. A UNESCO Word Heritage Site, it survived, with some damage, the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004. Also called the Ramparts of Galle, its walls provide sheltered meeting places for young couples. As we walked around the parapet atop the ramparts, we observed shy couples, each with a colorful umbrella, tucked into almost every crenellation. The Sinhalese couple in the photo are typical of what we saw. (The photographer is standing one crenellation away; from the opening on the fort side, the couple is invisible.) When we talked with our driver about what we saw, he explained that it is difficult for unmarried Sri Lankan couples to find a place to be alone together. Public displays of affection are discouraged in this conservative society, and so these stone walls are a popular meeting place. If these walls had ears, how many stories must they hear?
This photo was taken on February 18, 2018. Specs are:
Canon 100D, ISO 320, f5.6, 1/320 sec, 250mm.