Today Prasad is taking me to Mattancherry where there is a palace and a Jewish synagogue that has been in operation for 400 years. It's not that far and normally I would walk but my local friend said no, have Prasad drive. I probably would have gotten lost anyway.
We arrived a bit before the synagogue opened so I bummed around the shops for a bit and picked up some magnets. They all wanted to sell me something. Madam I have... No.
Finally the synagogue was open and like most tourist attractions here there wasn't much information about it. They had some plaques about the history of the back and forth between the Jews and the Indians concerning the synagogue and its 400 year history but no guided tours or brochures. I guess they figure they have enough litterhere.
It's called the Paredsi synagogue which means foreigners. The Jews are though to have arrived in Kerala India as eagle as 68 AD. The church itself was very plain except for the chandeliers imported from Belgium, which were all slightly different. I don't know that I've ever been in a synagogue now that I think about it, so maybe the simplicity is to be expected.
From there I started to amble over to the palace but on the way I found Crafters, an antique store that Parvity told me about. When most of the Jewish population left when Isreal was formed, they left behind a lot of stuff. Stores like Crafters are filled with tons of those antiques plus local items as well. So it was a funny mix of Hindu gods, blue willow China, and giant statures and architectural items. No photos were allowed.
I was regretting my purchase of a bronze turtle two days earlier because they have one that has a lamp on it back. But there is just no room for both. I did buy an old tile. They had a wonderful collection and I loved tiles, but I limited myself to one, small rectangular shaped tile with a lotus flower on it.
When I came out of there, I came upon Prasad and he showed me the entrance to the palace. Good grief, So many vendors outside the palace entrance hawking wares. As if I want cigarettes!
Unfortunately, the most interesting thing about the palace was its murals, but photos were prohibited. And could they have postcards of them you could buy? Of course not. I was able to photograph the doli which were made for carrying people and were quite elaboratee with their carry handles. There was lots of regalia of the royal Indian family from this region.
Built in 1557 by the Portuguese, they have it to the local Raja. It's considered one of the best examples of Kerala architecture with colonial influence. It became known as the Dutch palace when they took over control of the area and made repairs to the palace.
Once I was through that I asked Prasad for a place to have a light lunch like a sandwich. He drove around in circles I believe for a bit and then presented me with Pizza Hut. Oh no no no. I was lucky there was a decent looking hotel with a cafe next to Pizza Hut where I had an egg salad sandwich and fresh lime with honey drink. I swear they boiled the eggs and made the salad after I ordered. The eggs were still warm.
I had him return me to my hotel after that and I proceeded to rest by the pool and have a few quick dips to stay cool.
I ventured out again to walk and got a filter coffee from a street vendor for 15 rupees. I thought he said 50 because that was the "normal" price I'd been paying.
Parvati had said she would bring me a suitcase. knew she was busy at a wedding and I was going to have to buy one regardless, so when I found the store again that had suitcases, I bought one. I'm ashamed to say it's larger than the roller board I brought with me for the seven day stay in Kerala. I also lbought some post cards and another journal because mine had run out and my spare was in Chennai with the rest of my luggage.
Everything for nicely and I had one less thing to stress about. Because I can always find something to stress about.
I went down to the beach for sunset again, but it was very cloudy and not very spectacular. But that did not dampen the party. I think there were more people than Saturday, and pony rides were again an option for tiny people. A local chatted me up for a bit.
I returned to the hotel to dress for an early dinner at Paragon which Parvity had suggested. I Al's it walked out because no one seemed to want to wait on me. But just before I did, the head waiter finally showed up. Service was spotty but the mango and seafood salad, grilled fish and fish curry were all amazing.
I watched a bit of a Christmas movie to wind down and went to bed early. Prasad was coming for me at 7 and I wanted to be up early enough to have a walk and a shower before getting on the road.
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