A Wonderful, Very Old Port City

see all photos »

We traveled 12 hours yesterday (car, plane, layover, delayed plane, car) and went to sleep in the legendary city of Cochin, in southwestern India. Our hotel room in the historic Brunton Boatyard faced the harbor, and sea breezes caressed us as we slept.

Today was totally fantastic.

I have an overpowering urge to cook this very minute...

But today started off badly: we were awakened at 5AM by a very loud muezzin, enthusiastically (I’d rather say “aggressively,” but cultural sensitivity forbids it) calling the Muslim faithful to prayer (and the non-faithful to wake up and frown).

But, you ask, a muezzin in mostly Hindu India? How could this be?

Well, the state of Kerala is a model of religious toleration. Jews have lived here 2,000 years, Muslims over 1,000, and Christians 500. Cochin’s history includes the Dutch East India Company, Vasco da Gama (buried here in 1524), and medieval Jewish merchants. The Afghans and then Brits ruled here in the 19th century, new kids on the block.

Today we walked around the old town, observing the differences between the old Dutch and Portuguese architecture. We instantly recognized the 17th-century and 18th-century Dutch buildings from their New Amsterdam versions of the same era—which we had studied as part of New York City history as kids in Brooklyn. The guide didn’t expect tourists to get THAT excited about the old Dutch roofs!

We also went to the narrow, crooked streets of the wholesale spice markets along the waterfront. As they had done for a dozen centuries, we saw merchants supervising their half-naked laborers hauling and loading huge burlap sacks of spices, chilies, tobacco, cashews, and rice. Every fifty feet a new aroma overpowered us. I have an overpowering urge to cook this very minute, new dishes with new flavors and smells.

Having been all over town in 90-degree heat, I’m wet and tired myself. More tomorrow on this fabulous, cosmopolitan/ancient city.