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Kayman’s Gate – historic bell tower in Colombo City By Arundathie Abeysinghe   Located at the intersection of Main Street and Fourth Cross Street in Pettah, the commercial hub of Colombo City, Kayman’s Gate (in Sinhala, Kaiman Dorakada) is a historic solitary grey bell tower which was an entrance to former Colombo Fort. St. John’s River, a canal that connected to Beira Lake was located outside the Gate. Waste from Colombo Fort had been dumped to this river.   An integral symbol of Old *Ceylon, “Kayman’s Gate” is derived from the Dutch word “Kaaiman” meaning crocodile as a large number of mugger crocodiles (who flocked in large numbers to eat leftover meat and bones thrown out by Colombo City dwellers who lived inside the fortified bastion) swarmed the moat of Beira Lake. Colombo Fort was built and consolidated by the Portuguese during the Portuguese Colonial Era in 1554 as a defensive ...