1, 4 & 6. Eat great Mallu
food amid antiques
at Ginger House- Teapot Café is great
for a quick snack break - You’ll find a range
of different windows
at Mattancherry Palace - St Francis Church
is believed to be the oldest
European-built church in India
Then on to the Indo-Portuguese Museum, set in the garden
of Bishop’s House. Filled with religious artefacts – vestments,
altarpieces, 19th-century sketches of Santa Cruz Basilica
and silver processional crosses – it showcases the heritage
of one of India’s earliest Catholic communities. The basement
hosts remnants of the 16th-century Portugueuse Fort Immanuel
(00-91-484-221-5400; Bishop Kureethara Rd; 9am – 1pm,
2pm – 6pm Tues – Sun; 20 adult,10 child).
Take a break; the heat in Kerala between showers can
be formidable, and you will find the popular Kashi Art Café
an oasis. The watermelon and feta salad and the Thai beef
with jasmine rice make for great picks; you’ll eat in a courtyard
dotted with contemporary art works, all great for the ‘gram
(Burgher St; 8.30am -– 10pm; from 300). Then on to Mattancherry Palace, whose nondescript exterior belies the gems within – in particular, the well-preserved murals from the 17th to 19th centuries in the royal bedchambers depicting scenes from the Ramayana, Maharabharata and puranic legends, some of them more risque than others (Palace Rd, Mattancherry; 9.45am – 1pm, 2pm – 4.45pm Sat – Thur; 5 adult). Other artefacts include portraits of kings, coins
and stamps. The palace was presented as a gesture
of goodwill to the Raja of Kochi, Veera Kerala Varma, in 1555
by the Portuguese, and renovated by the Dutch in 1663,
which gives it its other name, the Dutch Palace.
Dotted with antiques shops and souvenir sellers, Jew Town
awaits nearby, and within it the Pardeshi Synagogue,
built originally in 1568, destroyed in 1662 by the Portuguese,
and rebuilt in 1664, when the Dutch took the area
(Synagogue Lane, Mattancherry; 10am – noon, 3pm – 5pm
Sun – Thur; `5). Within, you will find an ornate bimah (platform
from which the holy Torah is read) in brass, wooden benches,
Belgian chandeliers, and hand-painted floor tiles from Canton
in China, added in 1762. The clock tower dates back to 1760.
As you walk down the road, admire the wooden doors and
the windows with Star-of-David grills. Walk down to Ginger
House on the waterfront (00-91-484-221-3400; Jew Town Rd,
Mattancherry; 7am – 8pm daily; from ` 250). Here, the Mallu
food is particularly good, but the real privilege is in sitting
by the river amid antiques from the attached heritage arts
showroom. History and good food are, unmistakably,
signatureexperiencesin FortKochi.STAY:FourPointsbySheraton(www.marriott.com;
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