After exploring Fort Kochi on foot, Second day is for walking tour of Mattancherry area in Fort Kochi. Remember to note down the points given in Mattancherry Walking guide.
Mattancherry walking guide is a tour to the World!
Mattancherry is the epitome of mingling of cultures and religions from all over world; Jews from Israel, Muslims from Arab countries, Christian from Europe and resident Hindu population, all found it home under the Cherra kings.
It is also home to Konkani community who migrated here from Goa for fear of conversions at Portuguese hands, Tamil speaking community and a Kannada speaking community besides Gujaratis.
Exploring Mattancherry on foot is the best way to experience all these events of past and living culture of present.
Note down the Mattancherry Walking Guide
Start early, preferably by seven in morning.
From Fort Kochi, ask for the Palace road. Morning is a quiet affair on this otherwise busy road which houses eating joints, Ayurveda shops, flower sellers, goldsmiths and others. It takes you to Mattancherry area of the Kochi.
- The list of places to visit in Mattanchery include-
- Pardesi Synagogue,
- Jew Town,
- Mattancherry Palace,
- Bazaar Road,
- Jain temple,
- Calvetty mosque,
- Pepper House and
- a final stop for your deprived north Indian taste buds- Shantilal Mithaiwala. It is a very small area and haphazard so just look in the list and visit all.
- For convenience, Bazaar road will lead you Calvetty mosque and Copper House.
Pardesi Synagogue- White Jew’s Praying place in Kochi
Timings– It does not open before 10 am, closes in afternoon and then opens again at 3 pm. It remains closed on Friday, Saturday and Jewish Holidays. The Synagogue is owned by a sect of Jews known as the White Jews or Paradesi Jews.
Who are White Jews– In the 16th century, groups of European Jews from Spain, Portugal, and Poland came to Kochi seeking asylum. They came to be referred to as the Paradesi Jews or White Jews and the Jews which arrived earlier—- and were already living here were called as Malabari Jews.
Paradesi Jews believed they were of pure-blood and they married among themselves, not with Malabari Jews.
Inside the Pardesi Synagogue at Mattancherry
The floor of this synagogue has 256 beautifully-laid porcelain floor tiles. These imported from China and donated by a wealthy Jew Ezekiel Rahabi, who, as per legends, was wealthier than the King of Kochi. I do not have pics to show as photography is not allowed inside.
There is a cemetery close to the Paradesi Jewish Synagogue, which has tombs only of the ‘White Jews’. Visitors can not go inside the cemetery, but one can get a good view of the tombs through the locked gates, if you are interested.
Jew Town, Mattancherry, Fort Kochi.
The next stop in Mattancherry walking guide is Jew Town. Jew town is situated at the heart of Mattanchery.
It is a busy street between the Mattancherry or Dutch Palace and the Paradesi Synagogue, and was an important Jewish settlement in India.
It was once famous for spice trading. Todat it is a popular place to buy spices, handicrafts, and antiques.
The history of Jew Town, Mattancherry
The legend on the formation of Jew Town is that the King of Kochi gave a piece of land to the Jews who came to Kochi for trade.
When Periyar river flooded in 1341, it destructed the legendary port of Miziris ( possibly at Kodungallur, about 30 km north of Kochi). Jews were settled there in that time and spice trade was their main business.
After flooding of Port Muziris, a group of Jews from Muziris shifted their trade and settlements to Kochi in this Jew Town. This jew Town was a bustling place with Jewish traders and their homes till Israel was formed in 1948. After that, most of them left Kochi for Israel.
When we visited, Only one Jew, Sarah Cohen was living there. Only Jewish heritage and history is left here now for all of us.
Mattancherry Palace or Dutch Palace
The spice traders came to Kochi from many places in world- Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch and like. They all tried to impress Kochin Royals to build good relations to benefit their trade.
The Portuguese build this palace for Raja of Kochi in 1555 AD, and it was later renovated by Dutch. Since then, it is also called as Dutch Palace.
The Palace is built in the style of ancient Kerala houses called Nallukettu which always has a central courtyard and four surrounding wings which all open into this central courtyard.
Photography is disallowed in this palace. It has very fine and detailed wall murals depicting scenes from Ramayana, Krishna Leela and other.
The black floor is very unique and looks like marble, but is actually done with a mixture of lime, plant extracts, egg whites and burnt coconut shells.
Like all other palace museums, it also houses portraits of royal family, their furniture, dresses and other things. The courtyard has a temple dedicated to Pazhayannur Bhagavathy.
Jain Temple in Mattancherry
Jains came to Kochi as traders during the time Kochi evolved into a prominent port in the 14th century.
The roads leading to this temple are narrow and winding and you will have to ask people for direction. The temple is new as compared to other structures in Fort Kochi.
The main attraction here is the ” Pigeon Feeding”. It takes place around 12:30 pm, when thousands of pigeons flock here for a feast of 20 kg of grains, everyday. It is a delight to watch them come there and feed and fly.
Bazaar Road, Mattancherry
It is the road which takes you to Pepper House. It was busy for spice trade in its heyday and even now, there a few warehouses storing spices.
Today when you walk this road, aroma of spices consisting of Black Pepper, cardamom, cloves, mace, nutmeg, cinnamon, bay leaves and a many other spices, hit your nostrils and makes you get intoxicated.
It makes you dream of the Indian cuisine and your home where each spice has a special place in one or the other cuisine , and some cuisines where a mix of many of these spices create an aroma that tentalise your nose but makes your mouth to drool.
This spicy Bazar road also witnessed the famous “The oath of the Coonan Cross”, which split Kerala Christians into two.
What is “Oath of the Coonan Cross”?
Christianity came to Kerala in first century AD itself. This was not Catholic sect, they were Syrian Christians. The Portuguese tried to bring the Syrian Christians of Kerala under the supremacy of the Roman Church.
There arose a violent quarrel between the Syrian Christians and Portuguese authorities. The agitated Syrians assembled in thousands in front of an ancient Cross located on Bazaar road in Mattancherri, tied a lengthy rope on it and holding on to it swore that they would never obey the Latin Archbishop or the Jesuits anymore. This is known in history as the “Oath of the Coonan Cross”.
The oath was- “By the Father, Son and Holy Ghost that henceforth we would not adhere to the Franks, nor accept the faith of the Pope of Rome, nor any foreign rule.”
Pepper House, Mattancherry
Pepper House is located in Calvetty, near Calvetty Juma Masjid. It is a old spice warehouse, which has been tastefully converted to an art center and a cafe. It is one of the venue for now famous Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
The warehouse is build for its function- storing spices. Its one side runs along the waterside and another side opens to market. Boats brought spices from all over Kerala and were parked near the water side of this warehouse.
Then sacks were unloaded and spices were sorted out in big halls, then left to dry in the open courtyard in the center, after which it was packed and stored in various rooms in this double storey-ed structure in trade able sacks and taken out from the other side leading to market.
Calvetty Juma Masjid- built in 1384, it is one of the oldest mosque in Kochi, which has major Keralan architectural influence.
Shanthi Lal S Mithaiwala– is a treat if you are craving for north Indian flavors. The jalebis and kachoris are mouth watering and the shop is crowded at most times of the day. Other delicacies Gujarati delicacies like dhoklas, ghatias, fafadas and ladoos are also good.
Mattancherry Boat jetty
If you do not want to walk back after finishing the walking tour of Mattancherry, you can take a local ferry from here. It is located close to the Mattancherry or Dutch Palace. There are boat services to Ernakulam, Fort Kochi, and Willingdon Island. There is a tourist information center too.
Tamil Agraharam on Palace Road
Generally, the Tamil Brahmin community’s living spaces in old traditional styles are called agraharam. On way from Fort Kochi to Mattancherry lies this Agraharam.
Neatly lined row of houses along a clean narrow straight street, and a temple at the end is what completes a picture of this Agraharam. But the experience is very rich. When we entered this Agraharam, vedic chants were wafting in the air, young boys in Vedic attire looked at us curiously.
All the houses had a small seating space outside and were jutted to each other. When we tried to communicate, we felt that the residents do not expect and like tourists to disturb their daily life. We respected their privacy and came out.
What a Diverse Place is Mattencherry!
Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Konkanis, Gujaratis, Tamils and Telugus, Malayalis…Mattancherry has been a melting pot of cultures since ages!! The walking tour of Mattancherry brings all of them alive.
Read about walking tour of Fort Kochi here.
