Spicing up the trip in Cochin, India’s Jew Town

Travel, we’ve decided, simply upsets preconceived notions about people and places.  Take India, for example.

Our ship, Oceania’s Nautica, had sailed past Chinese fishing nets as we arrived in the port city, Cochin, aka Kochi, giving it a more Asian than Indian flavor – at least based on  my preconceived notions of India.

Off to tour Kochi, India

The scenes along the the waterway had whetted our appetites for what we would see on our independent shore excursion.

Tiny Tuk Tuks - Cochin, India

We’d decided to go it alone in this city so after clearing customs and disembarking the ship, we arranged our day’s travels with the driver (pictured above) of this auto-rickshaw, aka Tuk-Tuk.  Locals use them much like a taxi, with various rates to various destinations. We traveled for a set price and duration, negotiated and paid before we set off from the dock.

Our driver obviously had transported tourists before though because he set off for the old historic part of town. . .an area simply called Jew Town, once the hub of the Kochi spice trade.

First a stop: Kochi’s Public Laundry

Kochi, India's  Public Laundry

Several dozen tourists had been disgorged from tourist buses at the laundry before we arrived. And despite telling our driver that I really didn’t want to take photos here, he couldn’t quite comprehend it. So here are the photos – which I was uncomfortable taking and tried to avoid people shots, but did catch this smiling lady who didn’t seem to mind being the focus of many cameras. I reasoned out that they must be proud of this system of ‘laundromats’ or they wouldn’t be bringing us all to see them. (The laundry was also part of a ship’s tour in Mumbai.)

Cochin/Kochi – A Quick Bit of History

Modern Cochin, India

Before India’s independence in 1947 Kochi, in southern India’s Kerala state,  was ruled by the Portuguese (1498-1663), the Dutch (1663 – 1795) and British (1797 – 1947). Maritime traders seeking Keralan spices, sandalwood and ivory are credited with setting the stage for today’s blending of cultures and the rather cosmopolitan look of the city.

Santa Cruz Basilica - Cochin, India

Our Tuk Tuk tour took us through a portion of the historic Fort Kochi/Cochin area and we had plenty of stops at places like the Santa Cruz Basilica, (pictured above), one of the oldest churches in India. The original structure was destroyed by the British and this building constructed in 1905.

[Now why I didn’t expect Chinese fishing nets to be followed by Jew Town and reminders of the Portuguese, Dutch and British influence in India, I’ll never figure out. But next time I’ll be doing a lot more research about our destinations before I see them and not after so I can more fully appreciate what I am seeing.]

Off to Jew Town

Kochi Jews are descendants of Jewish refugees who had fled from Palestine 2,000 years ago. Jew Town got its beginning back in 1524 when a Hindu Raja (another version says, King of Kochi) granted them land to them near his palace.

Today's Jew Town - a mix of old and new - Cochin, India

Jew Town, a thriving enclave in the 1500’s is today a still-bustling area area between Mattancherry Palace (built by the Portuguese in 1555 and remodeled by the Dutch in 1663) and Pardesi Synagogue (built 1568).

Although still a busy area, most of the Jews who lived here emigrated to Israel after its creation in 1948.  Several recent news articles say the numbers of Jews in Jew Town these days have dwindled to double digit figures and there is concern that its rich history will be lost to future generations.

Goats wandered streets and sidewalks - Cochin, India

Lonely Planet describes the streets as being ‘thick with the smell of the past’ and those smells were an intoxicating blend of ginger, cardamom, cumin, tumeric and cloves.  Huge gunny sacks of spices piled high on delivery trucks and in doorways.

Squeezing through spice streets - Cochin, India

On a day when both the temperatures and humidity hovered in the mid-90’s the combination of the two intensified the smells of spice as our driver putted along narrow streets squeezing us between delivery trucks and the small spice firms operating out of dilapidated storefronts. We inhaled deeply – the smells were an intoxicating, exotic blend of which we couldn’t get enough.

Unloading spices - Cochin, India

We left the open-air comfort of our Tuk Tuk and strolled through an area of small shops selling tourist goods, and antiques; an area where even a moment’s hesitation would bring an eager salesperson to our side inviting us in and offering ‘good prices’.  Their enthusiasm, mixed with the sun’s intensity, drove us into a restaurant at the water’s edge where we sipped ginger water and ate  ginger ice cream.

Ginger water and ginger ice cream - a respite in Cochin, India

As we were leaving the restaurant another ‘notion’ was knocked to the wayside  in a most delightful way: 

Our pre-arrival port information cautioned, “. . it is considered offensive to photograph local women and courtesy demands to ask permission before taking pictures of men.” So I didn’t intentionally take aim at women, nor did I ask men if I could take their photos. 

What they hadn’t prepared us for was being approached by a twosome of beautiful young women who asked if they could take OUR photo. . .(btw, now we know how that feels and it is rather strange!) 
So we posed for them and they snapped away with modern cell phones.  But then it was our turn - one more photo. . .

Photos are fun - no matter what the country! Cochin, India

Our Magic Carpet Ride heads a bit further north in India next week and lands in Mumbai! Hope you'll be back and until then, safe travels to you and yours ~ and as always many thanks for the time you spent here today! 

Linking up with:
Travel Photo Thursday – Budget Traveler’s Sandbox 
Our World Tuesday
Travel Inspiration – Reflections En Route
Mosaic Monday – Lavender Cottage Gardening
Mersad's Through My Lens
Photo Friday - Pierced Wonderings
Wordless Wednesday