Muziris Heritage Project Has Now Been Developed Into A Tourism Site By Kerala Toursim

Muziris: Kerala's new heritage site for tourists

History has always been written by the victors, and the victors have always been the good ones. Or that is what the history books claim. None of us have lived to see what really happened -- that's the bitter truth about any recorded history till date. But, that is not the only factor which keeps a region's history wrapped in a cloak of mysteries and half-baked truths. There are places that ceased to exist with the passage of time and reappeared only when historians unearthed them centuries later.

One such place is the Muziris Heritage site. Located in the Malabar Coast of Kerala, Muziris used to be an important seaport way back in the 1st century BC, or even earlier. Overlooking the Arabian Sea, this prosperous city-port at the mouth of the Periyar river held the key to India's spice trade with the Persians, the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Roman Empire, among others. Muziris was impossible to ignore, until a major natural calamity in the 14th century caused a major transformation to the water bodies of the Periyar river basin, wiping off the entire port region from the country's map.

A series of excavations made by Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) in the years 2007 and 2008, unearthed valuable information on the Muziris location. Years of findings and research ever since, has brought back 3,000 years of history to the fore. The Muziris Heritage Project has now been developed into a tourism site by the Kerala Tourism department and will be formally inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee on February 27.

The project is an effort to conserve and showcase the cultural heritage of the place. The Muziris Heritage Project is spread across the modern-day Ernakulam and Thrissur districts of Kerala. The Kerala Tourism website says the phase of the project covers "two municipalities viz. Kodungalloor and Paravoor and eight panchayats viz. Chendamangalam, Chittattinkara, Vadakkekara, Pallippuram, S.N.Puram, Eriad and Methala. More areas will be included in the next phase."

With excavated artefacts displayed in a museum, and several monuments restored, the project aims to educate tourists, students and locals about the rich cultural heritage of the region. Through various recreations and displays, the project will provide a detailed glimpse into the bygone era by showcasing the various shades of people's lifestyle at the time, including a display of their attire, ways of trading through the barter system, festivals they celebrated, the kind of food they had, and a lot more.

Since Muziris was an important centre of trade between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, people from various countries, including the Egyptians, Arabs, Chinese, Romans and Greeks settled in this place over the years. This led to the building of forts, churches, palaces and other architectural marvels, that together form a part of the built heritage of Muziris. Given below is the list of monuments you can see in this place:

·         The Holy Cross Church

·         Marthoma Smruthi Tharangam

·         Paravur Jewish Synagogue

·         Pattanam Excavation Site

·         Kottayil Kovilakom

·         Vypeekotta Seminary

·         Chennamangalam Jewish Synagogue

·         Paliam Dutch Palace

·         Paliam Nalukettu

·         Gothuruthu

·         Kottappuram Fort

·         Cheraman Parambu

·         Kizhthali Siva Temple

·         Thiruvanchikulam Mahadeva Temple

·         Cheraman Juma Masjid

·         Kodungalloor Bhagavathi Temple

·         Abdul Rahman Sahib's House

·         Marthoma Pontifical Shrine

·         Pallippuram Fort

·         The Azheekal Sree Varaha temple

·         The Manjumatha church

·         Kottapuram market - a model of a rural market

·         Kottakkavu church - place of religious importance

·         The Kodungalloor temple vibrant with rituals