Galle is the main city in the Southern Province and the primary urban complex set on the southern coast, and still bears signs of its earlier colonial past among various modern developments. Its name probably comes from the word “Gallus”, the Latin genus name for chickens since the Dutch used a rooster as their emblem for the city when they took over. Also the word “Gaala” means cattle stand while the Arabic trader and explorer Ibn Batuta named it “Qali” while the original name for the port was Gimhatitta. This literally means harbor on the River Gim, or Gin.
