The Muziris Heritage Project, a unique tourism and heritage conservation project linking monuments in the ar-ea surrounding the bygone 2,000-year-old Muziris port, will be opened to the public next month. Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, the prime mover of the project, told The Hindu that the site would be opened on February 18 by Union Tourism Minister Sel-ja. Most of the work being un-dertaken as part of the project would be ready by then, he said. Sources, however, said the inauguration, initially set for late March or thereafter, was being hurried in view of the Assembly election expected in April. Once the election is notified, it would not be pos-sible to hold the opening cer-emony until after the elections are over and a new government takes office. The Left Democratic Front gov-ernment is keen to get the project off the ground before its term ends. Dr. Isaac said the project, which would include parts of North Paravur and Kodungal-loor municipalities and seven grama panchayats, would be a unique tourism project in the country. "You will be walking
through history in the Muzi-ris Heritage Tourism Circuit — through the layers of Dutch, Portuguese, Roman and Arabian histories."
Four museums By March, four museums, Paliam Nalukettu, Paliam Kovilakam (Dutch Palace), the Paravur synagogue and the Chendamangalam syn-agogue, are expected to let in visitors. Two boat services, which will link the monuments, will be started. These services, one from the Paravur market and the other from the Kottappuram market, will take tourists down memory lane. Some of the monuments on the way would be: Pallipuram Fort, Vyppikota Seminary, Holy Cross Church, the newly dis-covered Jewish cemetery, and Kottayil Kovilakam. The excavations at Kottappuram Fort will also be opened to the public. The Union Tourism Minis-try has allocated Rs.40 crore
for the Muziris Heritage Tou-rism Circuit. However, the Kerala government sees the project mainly as a heritage conservation project with tourism add-ens. It has been declared as the first green project of the Kerala govern-ment. Some 19 government agencies and departments are involved in the project, apart from local government bodies in the area.
Major attractions One of the major attrac-tions of the project is the ar-chaeological excavations at Pattanam, believed to be the ancient town that acted as a backup to the Muziris port, which was located close to Kodungalloor. Merchants at Pattanam had brisk trade with the an-cient world, Rome, Arabia, Egypt and Greece. Muziris, then located at the mouth of the Periyar river-Arabian Sea, is believed to have been washed under the sea during the AD 1341 flood in the river. The Muziris Tourism Cir-cuit includes not only the remnants of Muziris and Pat-tanam, but also monuments from the Dutch, Portuguese and English colonial periods. The project is also envisaged as a non-formal academic site for the study of Kerala histo-ry, archaeology, folklore etc.
through history in the Muzi-ris Heritage Tourism Circuit — through the layers of Dutch, Portuguese, Roman and Arabian histories."
Four museums By March, four museums, Paliam Nalukettu, Paliam Kovilakam (Dutch Palace), the Paravur synagogue and the Chendamangalam syn-agogue, are expected to let in visitors. Two boat services, which will link the monuments, will be started. These services, one from the Paravur market and the other from the Kottappuram market, will take tourists down memory lane. Some of the monuments on the way would be: Pallipuram Fort, Vyppikota Seminary, Holy Cross Church, the newly dis-covered Jewish cemetery, and Kottayil Kovilakam. The excavations at Kottappuram Fort will also be opened to the public. The Union Tourism Minis-try has allocated Rs.40 crore
for the Muziris Heritage Tou-rism Circuit. However, the Kerala government sees the project mainly as a heritage conservation project with tourism add-ens. It has been declared as the first green project of the Kerala govern-ment. Some 19 government agencies and departments are involved in the project, apart from local government bodies in the area.
Major attractions One of the major attrac-tions of the project is the ar-chaeological excavations at Pattanam, believed to be the ancient town that acted as a backup to the Muziris port, which was located close to Kodungalloor. Merchants at Pattanam had brisk trade with the an-cient world, Rome, Arabia, Egypt and Greece. Muziris, then located at the mouth of the Periyar river-Arabian Sea, is believed to have been washed under the sea during the AD 1341 flood in the river. The Muziris Tourism Cir-cuit includes not only the remnants of Muziris and Pat-tanam, but also monuments from the Dutch, Portuguese and English colonial periods. The project is also envisaged as a non-formal academic site for the study of Kerala histo-ry, archaeology, folklore etc.
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