Cochin, India

 Cochin has a little more charm and character than the other ports that we have visited. Cochin is made up of seven islands, and  has a large beautiful harbor that is very active with fishing boats and  ferries, Like the other ports, it has modern buildings, high rises, and a modern container port run by Dubai, but we visited the old historical areas.

Old British Colonial building, now a hotel.

Fishing boats on the harbor.

 Cochin was first colonized by the Portuguese by Vasco De Gama who was looking for  the sea route to the spice trade in India. The Ottoman empire  controlled and taxed traders using the land route, so there was a big incentive to find a sea route. Cochin was also settled by the Dutch, who eventually traded Cochin to the British for the Indonesian Island of Banka, that the British had controlled. The British finally left in 1947, but there are many beautiful British colonial homes and buildings still in use as private homes, or boutique hotels. 

Old Harbor Hotel

Our day trip first stopped at the St. Francis Church built in 1503 by the Portuguese Friars, and the site of the tomb of the explorer Vasco De Gama. It is still a Christian church in active use, and is now Anglican.

St. Francis exterior.

St. Francis interior.

We then walked down the road to see the wonderful sea front mechanical fishing nets. They  are scattered in various locations along the harbor front. Some of these nets are also mounted on fishing boats, although we didn't see any. Chinese traders from the court of Kubla Khan  first taught this technique to the local fishermen. During high tide the nets are raised and lowered using manual labor every 10 minutes, and the fish are collected. One of the waiters on our cruise ship was from the Cochin area, and told us that four years ago a cyclone wiped out a lot of the abundant fishing areas.  There are  now many fewer nets now than before. Global climate change has also had an impact on the local fish supply.

The raised nets are ready for operation and waiting at low tide for the water to rise.

Nets at high tide in the water are being lowered and raised every 10 minutes.

The old man in orange working the ropes to raise the nets.

Organizing the ropes.

A series of nets waiting for high tide.

There were lots of egrets waiting for tidbits at the fish market.

The fresh catch from the nets is sold in the local fish market on the walkway beside the nets.

On our day trips we have seen a variety of vehicles that are unique to India and are still common in Cochin that we saw 40 years ago on our last trip through India.  One is the "Tuk Tuk", now called a motorized Rickshaw, which is a three wheeled taxi that can hold the driver and two adults. The locals seem to be able to cram more people and cargo in the backseat!

A row of "Tuk Tuks" waiting for passengers

A view from the bus window of "tuk tuks" in traffic.

 The others that I was glad to see were still in operation were the gaily painted trucks. The trucks are old, but the individual owners have painted them with individual  or saints names on the front, and decorations in bright colors. They are all different. 

"Puthiri" truck with "St. Marys" behind.

"Abdulla" truck.

Our last stop was to the Jewish area, and the Cochin Paradisi Synagogue. It was built in 1568, and is the oldest synagogue in Asia. There used to be a thriving Jewish community here, but many moved to Israel after the second world war. There are only a few older individuals left.  There are still many colonial buildings in the streets in the area that are now colorful shops with all sorts of  clothing, carpets, antiques etc.

Colonial building just outside the synagogue.

 

Synagogue interior with original hand painted blue and white floor tiles.

Exterior courtyard of the synagogue.