Tuesday, October 18, 2011

TOURISTS ATTRACTIONS

TOURISTS ATTRACTIONS

Fort Cochin, with its European heritage, its air of genteel decay, and stubborn self-absorption is a place where history, like a friendly phantom, still stalks the lonely streets.

The European have left random imprints in Fort Cochin. The massive buttresses, which are so conspicuous a feature of the place, were put up by the British to protect the houses that had been shaken by the force of an explosion that blew up the cathedral of Santa Cruz. In fact, they themselves had bombarded the church fearing a possible restoration of Dutch supremacy in Cochin. In spite of it all, the Santa Cruz Basilica still stands in a spirit of sturdy resistance.

The chief landmark though is St. Francis' Church, built in the early 16th century. It is the pride of Fort Cochin. The most magnificent pageant enacted here was the burial of Vasco da Gama in 1526. Nevertheless, it was to be a temporary resting place for this "armed interloper," as after sixteen years later, his son Pedro da Silva Gama took away the mortal remains of his father back to Portugal.

Tour to Cochin St. Francis' Church is the oldest existing European church in India. From this choir, for the first time in India, resounded the sonorous chants of Rome. The church began life as a wooden structure built by the five friars who accompanied the Portuguese to Cochin in 1503. The Franciscans, followers of St. Francis Xavier who visited Cochin in the early 16th century, raised the present edifice.

The most enduring impression of Fort Cochin is the enigma of the Chinese fishing nets. Like totems from another age stranded in time, they perch along the backwaters. Curious clumsy things with no bright counterfeit graces. The Chinese fishing nets are the most efficient means of backwater fishing and Fort Cochin is full of them.

The Dutch palace at Mattancherry was actually built by the Portuguese and presented to the Cochin ruler Vira Kerala Varma in 1555 as an act of expiation for the plunder and desecration of a temple near the Raja's palace by a hot-headed young Portuguese officer. The extensions of the east and south and the wooden ceilings of the Coronation Hall were incorporated by the Dutch. The real glory of the palace however lies in its wall murals, all done using the tempera process of painting. Forty-five scenes from the Ramayana adorn the long walls of the bedchamber. They are known for their brilliant execution. Of the paintings elsewhere in the palace, one is a large unfinished portrait of Lord Vishnu.

Mattancherry has a predominantly Muslim population. But tucked away behind its tumult is Jew Town, a quiet cul-de-sac. A single street of old discolored buildings-"Quaint houses of solid build"-where the few surviving members of the oldest Jewish settlement in India live. Hounded out of Muziris by the Portuguese, they came to Cochin in the 16th century and found an unexpected benefactor in the Raja of Cochin who allotted them this land near his palace and helped them build their place of worship. The Paradeshi Synagogue was built in 1568 with timber supplied gratis by the Raja who is said to have personally instructed the masons to mix mortar with coconut water for strong walls. One of the oldest synagogues in the world, it is a jewel of incomparable beauty with its brass columns, Belgian hanging lamps, and exquisite hand-painted, blue-and-white Chinese porcelain tiles of which no two are alike.

The Parishath Thampuram Museum in Ernakulam has a large collection of 19th-century oil paintings, old coins, sculptures, Mughal paintings, and temple models.

Vypeen and Gundu islands boasts of a lighthouse at Ochanthuruth, good beaches, and the 16th-century Pallipuram Fort.

No comments:

Labels

Aihole tourism ALAPPUZ TOURISM Alchi tourism Amber Fort Anantasagaram tourim Andhra Pradesh tourism Archaeological Museum Architecture of Fatehpur Sikri assam tourism Attractions in Ranthambhore National पार्क RAJASTHAN Bandhavgarh TOURISM Bhandeswari Jain Temple bihar tourism bopal tourism chandigad tourism Chandigarh tourism Chandigarh. tourism Chennai tourism Chill On The Hills Chittorgarh Travel TOURISM City Palace City Palace – RAJASTHAN City Palace – Jaipur RAJASTHAN City Palace – Udaipur City Palace – जयपुर RAJASTHAN City Palace – जयपुर TOURISM Coimbatore Coimbatore tourism Coimbatore. tourism Dancesrajasthan Delhi Delhi tourism Delhi tourism Delhi tourism Delhi Tourism india Delhi. tourism Delhi.tourism delhitourism Delwara Jain Temple Desert National Park RAJASTHAN dharampuri tourism dilhi tourism dinath of a hill. Durgapur tourism Fatehpur Sikri Fatehpur Sikri Agra fatehpursikari Fathehpur Sikri place Flora in Ranthambhore National पार्क RAJASTHAN Fruits of Jain Architecture Gajner Palace: RAJASTHAN Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Gardens of Rajasthan goa tourism Gujarat Tourism Guwahati tourism Hawa Mahal himachalpradesh tourism India India. Jain हवेली RAJASTHAN Jaipur Jaipur:Monuments of Rajasthan Jaisalmer City RAJASTHAN Jal Mahal jamnagartourism Jantar Mantar Jharkhand TOURISM Jodhpur City RAJASTHAN Junagarh फोर्ट RAJASTHAN Karnataka and Tourism Karnataka tourism Karnataktourism kartnataktourism kasmir tourism Kathmandu tourism Kerala t ourism Kochi tourism Kolyatji RAJASTHAN Kumbhalgarh फोर्ट RAJASTHAN Kumbhalgarh फोर्ट रास्थान TOURISM Kutch Ran Utsav Lake Palace Lakes of Rajasthan Lalgarh Palace Lalgarh PALACE RAJASTHAN Languages of Rajasthan Lonavala TOURISM Maharashtra tourism Mandawa Travel गुइदे rajasthan Mandem tourism manipur tourism Meghalaya tourism Mehrangarh Fort MIZORAM tourism Mount Abu is a jodhpur Mount Abu Tourism Mount Abu Travel TOURISM Mount Abu Travel Guide rajasthan Mt. Abu Tourism Mughal एम्पिरें Fatehpur Sikri Museum and Art Gallery Museums in Rajasthan Music of Rajasthan National Parks in Rajasthan - National Parks in Rajasthan -- Neora Valley National Park tourism Orissa tourism Patan. tourism People of Rajasthan Pilgrimage in Rajasthan pune tourism Purana कुइला डेल्ही tousim Pushkar City TOURISM Raiganj tourism Rajasthan Rajasthan tourism Rajasthan सफारी tourism Ranthambhore National पार्क RAJASTHAN Ranthambore City TOURISM Ranthambore National Park Rayadurg tourim Salimgarh फोर्ट tourism Samode InformationRajasthan Sand Dunes of Rajasthan School of Spirituality Shekha Narayan. Sikkim TOURISM Srinagar tourism tabahaltourism Tamil Nadu TOURISM Taste The Honey And Buy The Moon Temrupalle tourism The history of बीकानेर RAJASTHAN the posh south Delhi colonies. The Ranthambhore National Park Thiruvanthipuram tourism Tour tourism Travel Tripura tourism Udaipur Udaipur Travel TOURISM Udaipur: rajasthan Umaid Bhawan Palace utranchal tourism Uttar Pradesh tourism Uttarakhand tourism visitor ’s attraction. Vridhachalam tourism Vrindavan tourism west bangal tourism उदैपुर RAJASTHAN उदैपुर TOURISM उदैपुर राजस्थान TOURISM कर्णाटक .Mysore Tourism कर्णाटक tourism चंदिगढ tourism जयपुर RAJASTHAN जयपुर RASTHAN जयपुर TOURISM जैसलमेर RAJASTHAN जोधपुर RAJASTHAN जोधपुर राजस्थान डेल्ही tourism तमिलनाडु TOURISM दिल्ही tourism दिल्ही tourism फतेहपुर sikari बंगलोरे tourism बंगलोरे कर्णाटक tourism बीकानेर RAJASTHAN बीकानेर RAJASTHAN TOURISM मेघालय tourism मोनुमेंट rajasthan राजस्था न tourism राजस्थान tourism राजस्थान tourism सिटी palacerajasthan हिमाचल प्रदेश