12thHOP ON HOP OFF BOAT TOUR
Dec 2017
MUZIRIS PROJECT-A CRUISE THROUGH THE GOLDEN AGE OF SPICE TRADE
HOP ON HOP OFF Boat tour- heritage sites and museums
Tourism department conducted a field visit for tourism students on 12th December 2017 to Muziris region- the hub of Kerala’s ancient spice trade. This sightseeing boat tour is offered by Muziris heritage project under DTPC. It was a golden opportunity for the students to experience monuments and museums under Muziris project.
1. Paravoor Jewish Synagogue- It is the 2nd largest Jewish synagogue in India and built in 1615.the synagogue will help to understand or study about Jewish life, the social hierarchies etc.
2. Sahodaran Ayyappan Museum- This is the birthplace of sahodaran ayyappan, a renowned social reformer, thinker and administrator. His house is restored and modified to a museum now.
3. Paliam Palace museum- It is considered as the traditional home of Paliath achan ( prime minister to the king of Kochin) and it came to be called as kovilakam or palace.
4. Paliam Nalukettu Museum- It is a typical traditional kerala house, consisting of four blocks with a rectangular courtyard in the centre, known as nadumuttam.
5. Basilica of Our Lady of Snow, Pallipuram-. The church was established in 1503, renovated in 1931 and rebuilt in 2006. The Portuguese built a fort at Pallipuram as a watchtower in 1503. It is the oldest existing European fort in India. At the same time, the Portuguese built a church for the believers of the surrounding area and dedicated it to Our Lady. It was the church at that time where Christians in that area gathered together for worship.
6. Azhikode Marthoma Church-The Marthoma Pontifical shrine is a major pilgrim centre that comes under the Muziris Heritage Project. The bone of the right arm of St. Thomas was brought from Ortona in Italy and enthroned in the present Pontifical shrine. From then on, the shrine at Azhikode has been a great pilgrimage centre attracting thousands from all around the world, irrespective of caste and creed.
7. Kottapuram fort excavations- Built in 1523, the Cranganore or Kodungallur Fort later came to be known as the Kottappuram Fort. Kottappuram Fort, right at the mouth of the River Periyar, is a tribute to the Portuguese military genius. The fort tells the story of the rise and fall of many rulers through four centuries.