Kochi

Having the distinction of being the oldest church built by Europeans in India, this church was first built in timber by the Portuguese in 1503. It was overlaid with stone masonry. The attraction here is the tomb of Vasco da Gama who was originally buried here in 1524. His mortal remains were 14 yrs later taken to Lisbon. The ‘Doop Book ‘or the old baptism and marriage register from 1751-1804 is capable of drawing the attention of any history buff.

This Portuguese church recently celebrated its 500th anniversary and is supposedly India’s oldest church. During the period when the Dutch were converting all buildings in the region into warehouses to store their goods and weapons the church was somehow spared, but it could not escape the wrath of the British & was partially destroyed in 1795.It was however rebuilt in 1905.It has an imposing façade that is built in Gothic style of architecture as is marked by soaring spires. The interiors are also equally impressive.

The unique feature of this 400 year old synagogue is the hand painted willow pattern porcelain tiles which were brought from China. And this uniqueness is evident from the fact that these tiles find a place in Salman Rushdie’s novel The Moor’s Last Sigh. The building has a very rich interior with abundant use of gold and brass. The Jews were conservative people so accordingly an upstairs balcony had been provided for the women to worship. Here one more thing that grabs attention is the 45 feet clock tower that has numerals in Hebrew, Arabic, Latin and Malayalam.

Like many other buildings in Kochi this palace was raised by the Portuguese in 1555.They presented it to the Raja of Cochin,Veera Kerala Varma probably as a goodwill gesture in order to secure trading privileges over the others. Later the Dutch renovated it and hence it is alternatively known as Dutch Palace. Its marvelous murals depict scenes from the famous Indian Epics of the Ramayana & the Mahabharata besides the royal regalia. Do not forget to see the ladies bedchamber featuring lord Krishna(with 6 hands) engaged in play with the Gopis.

Popularly known as ‘Cheena Vala’ in Malayalam these fishing nets dot the entrance of Kochi harbour. They were introduced in the region by the traders from the court of Chinese king Kublai Khan. And to our surprise the technique is till date serving its purpose. These nets are mainly used during the high tides and require at least 4 men to operate successfully. The worth noticing fact about them is that beside China Kerala is the only place where you can find these nets.

A must do in Kochi is watching a live Kathakali performance. If you are an art enthusiast bring alive your taste for dance and allow your holiday to enrich your knowledge. As a visitor also you can learn about the intricate details of make up and costumes. The themes in Kathakali are based on Hindu mythology, particularly the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. The colors of the masks worn by the artists signify their character, like green for noble males, red for evils, yellow for women etc. This is truly an out of this world experience. The most commercialized venue is Cochin Cultural Centre at Manikath Road. The makeup starts at 5:00 pm and show at 6:30.