Page 649 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

K OCHI  647

Today, most of these house VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
antiques shops.
Practical Information
P Kochi International Ernakulam district. 222 km
Pepper Exchange (138 miles) N of
Jew Town. Tel (0484) 222 4263. Passes Thiruvananthapuram.
required to enter hall. Open Mon–Sat. * 612,300. n Tourist Information
This unique establishment Centre, (0484) 236 0502; TRC,
reverberates with voices, near Ernakulam jetty (0484) 235
seemingly raised in anger, as 3234. _ Onam (Aug/Sep).
one ascends the stairs. However, Transport
nothing prepares the visitor for k 36 km (22 miles) E of city
what lies within – the small hall centre, then bus or taxi. £
is lined with tiny cubicles, each
with a man talking animatedly
on a telephone. Theatrical gestures port. Situated between Fort Kochi,
Main hall with brass pulpit and blue-tiled accom panied by a loud cacophony Mattancherry and Ernakulam, it
floor, Paradesi Synagogue of sounds mark the drama of has some good hotels, as well
each day’s pepper auction. as the main harbour, the Port
whom the synagogue is named. Trust building and the customs
A third, smaller group, the Brown R St Francis Church house. It is also an important
or Meshuhurarum Jews, Fort Kochi. Tel (0484) 221 7505. naval base.
descended from converted Open Mon–Sat, after 11:30am Sun.
slaves, many of whom were in 5 (English) 8am, daily. Bolghatty Island
the spice trade. In 1940, there Established in the early 1500s Bolghatty Palace Hotel: Tel (0484) 275
were 2,500 Jews in Kerala, but by the Portuguese (who called 0500. 0 open to non-residents.
today only a few families remain; it Santo Antonio), this is one of A narrow strip of land, this
the rest having migrated to Israel. India’s earliest Euro pean churches, beautiful island with breath-
The present synagogue, with with a simple façade that became taking views of the bay, is the
its tiled roof and clock tower, was the model for later churches. Taken location of Bolghatty Palace.
rebuilt in 1664 with Dutch help, over by the Dutch and then the Set in 6 ha (15 acres) of lush
after the Portuguese destroyed British, it is today affiliated to green lawns, this palatial
it in 1662. The synagogue’s the Church of South India. structure was originally built
treasures include beautiful silver Within are numerous by the Dutch in 1744 and later
and gold Torah scrolls, a multitude gravestones with inscriptions, became the home of the British
of hanging oil lamps and crystal the earliest a Portuguese epitaph, Resident. It has now been
chandeliers, and a superbly dated 1562. Vasco da Gama converted into a hotel.
crafted brass pulpit. The floor is (see p657) was buried here in
covered with exquisite hand- 1524, until his body was taken Environs
painted blue willow-pattern tiles, to Portugal 14 years later. Kochi’s bustling business centre,
HighCourt
Bolghatty Jetty Bus Station which were brought from Canton Ernakulam, is 10 km (6 miles)
Island 2 km (1 mile)
Bolghatty Palace Airport in the mid-18th century by a Willingdon Island east of Fort Kochi. The Hill Palace
Hotel 36 km
Vypeen Island (22 miles) powerful merchant, Ezekiel Rahabi. This man-made island, named at Thripunithura, 10 km (6 miles)
Vypeen Ferry Jetty SHANMUGHAM RD The narrow lanes around after the viceroy, Lord Willingdon, southeast of Ernakulam, was
Island
Railway the synagogue are crammed was created in the 1920s out of built in 1895 and was the official
Govt Jetty Station
Vembanad Lake 2 km (1 mile) with Dutch-style residences. silt dredged to deepen Kochi residence of the former rulers of
ERNAKULAM Cochin. The palace, set in
CALVATH Y RD Customs Chottanikkara spacious grounds, is now a
CHU RCH RO AD Jetty Embarkation Main Boat PARK AVENUE museum with a fairly good
Temple
Jetty
Jetty
FORT
collection of paintings, manu-
Island
St Francis KOCHI BRIDGE RD BAZAR Willingdon scripts and royal memorabilia.
Church
Santa Cruz I ND IR A G A N DH I RD The exquisite floor tiles differ
ROAD AD
Cathedral TOWN HALL RO Jain Terminus A G M I L N E R O A D Thripunithura from room to room, and the
Jetty
Temple
sweeping wooden staircases
K.B. JACOB ROAD AMARAVATHI ROAD CHERALAI ROAD TOWN Palace JEW TOWN RD Paradesi Mattancherry BRISTOW RD South have a grandeur all of their own.
Mattancherry
Jetty
PAL ACE RD
L G PAI ROAD
The 10th-century Chottanikkara
JEW
R G PAI ROAD
Jetty
Synagogue
Temple, dedicated to the god dess
Cochin Harbour
Terminus Railway
Kochi International
Pepper Exchange
popular deities, is 16 km (10 miles)
JAWAHAR Station Bhagavati, one of Kerala’s most
SANTO GOPALANL RD RD SYNAGOGUE LANE E Thripunithura Museum
northeast of Ernakulam.
L a k s h d e e p S e a
M K RAGHAVAN RD MOULANA AZAD ROAD
BEACH R O AD
Tel (0484) 278 1113. Open Tue–Sun.
Antiques shops lining the narrow lanes in Jew Town
STATUE ROAD
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p703 and pp718–19
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