Paradesi Synagogue

Paradesi Synagogue sits on Palace Road in Mattancherry's Jew Town, right next to the Mattancherry Palace, on land the erstwhile king of Cochin gave to the community. Built in 1568 by Samuel Castiel, David Belila, and Joseph Levi, it is the oldest synagogue in India and in the entire British Commonwealth, and today it is the only one of Kochi's original seven synagogues still functioning as a place of worship rather than a ruin or museum. Inside, the layout mixes European, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Indian design in one small hall. Two pillars named Boaz and Jachin, referencing the original Jerusalem temple, flank a teak Ark holding four Torah scrolls dressed in silver and gold. A raised tebah is used for regular Torah readings, with a second one reserved for holidays, and a separate women's gallery with gilt columns runs along one side. The details reward a slow look rather than a quick walk-through. The floor is laid with hand-painted blue willow-pattern tiles brought from Canton, China, in the 18th century, and overhead hang 19th-century glass chandeliers from Belgium. There is an Oriental rug gifted by Emperor Haile Selassie, and 4th-century copper plates inscribed in Malayalam documenting the community's early history in Kerala. The building itself has survived one destruction — the Portuguese razed it in 1662, and the Dutch rebuilt it within two years. The clock tower that marks the entrance was added later, in 1791, under Dutch rule, and is one of the more photographed elements of the complex today.