Ernakulam
(Cochin)
A
leisurely walk through the city is the best way to discover historic Fort Kochi.
An obscure fishing village that became the first European township in India, Kochi
has an eventful and colourful history.
Its reputation as a Sea-Farming
Commercial Town was such that Nicolas Conti, an Italian traveller of the Middle
Ages remarked,
"If
China is where you make your money,
then Kochi surely is the place to spend
it".
The
town was shaped by the Portugese, the Dutch and later the British. The result
of these cultural influences are seen in the many examples of Indo-European architecture
that still exist here.
