A Dutch colonial villa, a tree house over-looking a riverbank, a renovated manor, a 1930s Art Deco chalet?an enchanting portrait of Sri Lanka"s faded grandeur, modern vision, and timeless beauty. The ancients called it the Island of Serendipity. Since 1972, it has been Sri Lanka, the "auspicious" (Sri) island to which King Lanka eloped with Rama"s beautiful wife in the 2000-year-old Hindu epic. Through the centuries, Muslim traders, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British were drawn to rule this magical tropical island just off the southeast coast of the Indian subcontinent. Today in Sri Lanka one finds buildings of simple elegance and universal charisma: conversions and developments proud of the past, sensitive to present desires, prepared for the future, and displaying the best of multi-ethnic decoration with statues of the Buddha, Christian tapestries, Islamic footstalls, and Hindu sculpture. The discerning choice of houses is illustrated with over 200...