Kerala Tourism will launch microsites on temple architecture and Jews who arrived in Kerala as traders and have contributed to the State’s culture and development.
The microsite on temple architecture aims at wooing tourists interested in temples and the one on Jews will showcase the synagogues that testify Jewish influence in Kerala history, other places of interest, and artefacts.
The ‘working group on tourism’ that met here recently cleared the microsites and sanctioned ₹29.50 lakh for the former site and ₹12 lakh for the latter, official sources told The Hindu .
As many as 100 temples across the State will be featured in the microsite. Temples are an amalgam of stonework, wood work, stucco work, and painting blended into a structure vibrant with the traditions of the region.
The temple walls are of coursed laterite stone masonry plastered in mud and lime. Murals are seen on several of these temple walls. Another distinctive feature is the multi-tiered brass lamps in front of many temples.
The move for a microsite on temples comes amidst the increase in pilgrim tourists to the capital following the revelation of a treasure trove in the vaults of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.
The proposed microsite on Jews will have a four-minute short film, 50 web pages, and details on synagogues, artefacts, and the minuscule ancient community concentrated in Kochi.
The IT solutions provider of Kerala Tourism, Invis Multimedia, has been entrusted with the work that is to be completed in early 2019.
The Jew Street at Broadway, Ernakulam Market, and the seven synagogues - the Paradesi and Kadavumbhagam synagogues at Mattancherry; Thekkumbhagom and Kadavumbhagam synagogues at Ernakulam Market; and the Paravur, Chendamangalam, and Mala synagogues - will be featured in the microsite. Those who are still in Kochi will narrate on the Jewish diaspora vanishing from Kerala society.
Tourists from Israel
Yoga and the Muziris Heritage project, which was thrown open to the public two years ago, have helped in ensuring a steady flow of tourists from Israel, says tourism officials.
The microsite for Jews comes as the 8,000-strong Kochi Jews settled in Israel are pressing for a heritage tourism corridor connecting the seven synagogues in Ernakulam and Thrissur.
