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Ripples On The Water: A History Of The Beira Lake “The Lake and the Slave Island from the glacis” by John Deschamps (1845) Source:Exploresrilanka In the heart of Colombo exists a lake overflowing with history. Created by invaders from afar, it was once many times its present size, served as a defensive moat, enabled the transport of goods and became a boating centre, before taking on its contemporary urban appearance. Words Richard Boyle Travelling past, or preferably walking alongside Colombo’s Beira Lake, one cannot help but wonder how this body of water (actually in two parts connected by a canal, which spills into the sea at Galle Face), came to be in the city centre, and what historic scenes may have transpired there. Regarding its establishment, Portuguese priest Father Fernão de Queyroz writes in Conquista Temporale Espiritual de Ceylão (1687), “When Vijayabahu [ruler of the nearby Kingdom of Kotte], laid siege ...