Kochi: the Chinese fishing nets of Kerala

A commercial crossroads between China, Arabia and Europe for centuries, Kochi preserves Chinese fishing nets still in use and one of the first synagogues built in the British Commonwealth.

Fort Kochi, with its Chinese fishing nets, is easily explored on foot along the waterfront.

The Chinese fishing nets of Fort Kochi, introduced according to tradition by merchants from the court of Kublai Khan, remain still in operation along the waterfront today.

A short walk away, the Dutch Palace, built by the Portuguese and later expanded by the Dutch, preserves murals that tell the epic of the Hindu Ramayana.

Continuing, you visit the Paradesi Synagogue, built in 1568 by the Jewish community of Cochin, among the oldest still-active synagogues in the Commonwealth.

As evening falls, a performance of Kathakali, a traditional Kerala theatrical dance with elaborate makeup and striking costumes, closes the day in a small local theater.

The Chinese fishing nets, operated by stone counterweights following a system unchanged for centuries, require several people working together to be lifted from the water.

The Jewish community of Cochin, one of Asia's oldest with roots that tradition traces back two thousand years, has now largely relocated to Israel.