Historical Journey

Jophie and his wife, Subeena, invited me on a tour of historical Kochi, and I was happy to take up their offer.After some island hopping over some new bridges and almost getting lost in a pot hole (some of these pot holes in the road are big), we reached a ferry point to cross over to Fort Kochi. The view was nice because you could see the city on the other side of the bay - fishing boats were a regular site...as well as fishing canoes which toss out small nets.

 

When the ferry came, I noticed it was a "one way loading ferry". This means you drive off the ferry in a forward gear, and you drive on the ferry in a backward gear.

 

I think India's country motto is "If there is a space, fill it.". So, I was wondering how many people and cars they could fit on the ferry without it sinking.

 

The answer to my question was, if the boat starts to sink, nobody else can get on. Once the ferry was over loaded with to much cargo, it backed out and went to the other side.

 

 

Once we got to the other side, we tried to find an old Jewish Synagogue which has been around since 1568. Here is what the sign said:

"The Paradesi Synagogue was built in 1568 by descendants of Spanish, Dutch and other European Jews. It has served as a functioning synagogue throughout the centuries, and preserves a unique record of Jewish presence in India. The Clock Tower was added later in 1760."

Here is a pic of the clock tower and the gates. They don't allow pictures inside. You also must have "modest atire" to get in...there were a couple of guys with sleevless shirts, and they had to go to a shop nearby to get something to cover their arms. They may not allow people with shorts in either...so be prepared to dress in short sleeve and pants...or make the appropriate offering to the clothing shop next door.

 

After looking at old paintings, tile work and other old religious artifacts, we headed back out to the street to look at what the local shops had to offer.

 

There were lots of antique statues and figures. We think a lot of this material was made to look old, but it really wasn't.

 

There were numerous spice shops, and the spices smelled great.

 

We walked into an art gallery, and they had art work from local artists which the gallery sold on commission.

 

I found some old clocks here. So, these picks are for my Grandpa who is the "Clock Maker of the Ozarks".

 

We did find some great works in a few of the shops. Some were new and some were antique. These doors are antique, and the craftsmen ship is amazing.

 

There are some incredible metal work going on. I was told people from all over the world learn techniques to pour solid metal castings. The lion below is a full sized lion, and the vat is the largest single cast vat in the world.

 

We also found some interesting statues.

 

We took a quick break at a local shop and had tea and cake, and then headed off to a temple that was close by.

 

Our final stop was at St. Francis Church where Vasco da Gama was buried. According to wikipedia, his remains were returned to Portugal, but the original headstone is still on church grounds.

 

It was a great trip, and many thanks to Jophie and Subeena. We ended our historical journey eating dinner  at a well known site  of Jewish ancestor y which has been  converted into a hotel\restaurant.

There were a lot of different cultures passing through Kochi over the many centuries, and the current culture reflects this diversity in the wide range of religions that are still practiced today.