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
