In picture is the most famous Synagogue in Kerala , the Paradesi Synagogue. It is the oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth ofNations,located in Kochi, Kerala, in South India. It was built in 1568 by he Malabar Yahudan people or Cochin Jewish Community in the Kingdom of Cochin. Paradesi is a word used in several Indian languages, and the literal meaning of the term is "foreigners", applied to the synagogue because it was historically used by "White Jews",a mixture of Jews from Cranganore, the Middle East, and European exiles. It is also referred to as the Cochin Jewish Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue. The synagogue is located in the quarter of Old Cochin known as Jew Town and is the only one of the seven synagogues in the area still in use.
The complex has four buildings. It was built adjacent to the Mattanchery PalaceTemple on the land gifted to the Malabari Yahuden community by the Raja of Kochi, Rama Varma. The Mattancherry Palace temple and th e Mattancherry synagogue share a common wall.
The Malabari Jews formed a prosperous trading community of Kerala, and they controlled a major portion of world wide spice trade.
A rare 'Black Jewish Synagogue' at Chendamangalam, a small village in
Ernakulam district of Kerala. The term 'Black Jew' refers to the ancient
Malabar Jewish Communities. Chendamangalam was the first settlement
of Jews in Kerala, before they moved to Fort Kochi. The oldest Jewish
tombstone in Kerala can be seen at this Synagogue.
Mattancherry Palace with its medieval charm is situated at Palace Road, Mattancherry, Kochi.It was built by the Portugese and presented to Veera Kerala Varma (1537-65), Raja of Kochi, in 1555 AD. The Dutch carried out some extensions and renovations in the palace in 1663,and thereafter it was popularly called Dutch Palace.The landing of Vasco Da Gama, the Portuguese explorer at Kapadu, Calicut in 1498 was welcomed by the Kochi rulers. They were given exclusive right to construct factories. The Portuguese repulsed the repeated attacks of the Zamorins (Samoothiri) and the Cochin
Rajas practically became vassals of the Portuguese.The influence of the Portuguese were supplanted by the Dutch and they took over Mattancherry in 1663. Subsequently, the area was taken over by Hyder Ali (Tipu Sultan's father, Mysore Kingdom) and still later by the British East India Company.
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