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The synagogue's raised reading platform draped in gold cloth, seen beneath a large crystal chandelier, with the gilded torah ark against the far wall.

Rainer Halama, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A yellow lantern and a Star of David sign hang over a narrow lane of white colonial buildings with wooden shutters near the synagogue.

Anish Mathew Jose, via Unsplash

The synagogue's white clock tower with a round clock face and weathervane, a bougainvillea and green bench below it.

Jayashankar Shankar, via Pexels

Two women and a boy stand outside the synagogue's arched entrance, sandals left in rows on the ground before going in.

Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Four blue-and-white Chinese floral porcelain tiles laid in a grid, part of the hand-painted tile floor at Paradesi Synagogue.

Oleg Yunakov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons All 9 photographs

Rainer Halama, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Anish Mathew Jose, via Unsplash

Jayashankar Shankar, via Pexels

Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Oleg Yunakov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rows of blue-and-white Chinese porcelain tiles, each hand-painted with a different floral or landscape scene, covering the synagogue floor.

Photographer not known

The synagogue's blue-tiled interior seen between two gold pillars, colourful glass oil lamps hanging from the ceiling and the gilded ark at the far end.

Photographer not known

A whitewashed clock tower with a tiled pyramidal roof and weathervane, rising above a stone perimeter wall, part of the Paradesi Synagogue complex in Mattancherry.

Paul Arps, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Clock tower beside the Paradesi Synagogue in Mattancherry, Kochi. The clock tower was commissioned by Ezekiel Rahabi in 1760 and remained functional until 1930; its four faces used Latin, Hebrew, and Malayalam numerals.

Vinayak v nair, 27 September 2018, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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All 9 photographs

Paradesi Synagogue

Hundreds of hand-painted blue-and-white Chinese tiles, no two alike.

Synagogue

The Paradesi Synagogue was built in 1568 on land given by the Raja of Kochi. Its name means “foreigner” in Malayalam, reflecting the community it served. The interior has hundreds of hand-painted blue-and-white Chinese porcelain tiles, no two alike, and the synagogue shares a wall with the temple in Mattancherry Palace. Copper plates recording privileges granted to Joseph Rabban are kept here, as is the memory of the Torah scroll hidden during the 1662 Portuguese attack and recovered unharmed in 1668. Shoes come off at the door.

Visiting

Address	Not recorded yet
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Hours	Monday10am – 6pm Tuesday10am – 6pm Wednesday10am – 6pm Thursday10am – 6pm Friday10am – 2pm SaturdayClosed Sunday10am – 6pm
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Fact 1 of 6: Paradesi means foreigner in Malayalam.

Paradesi means foreigner in Malayalam.

Ultimate GuidePaul Arps, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Ultimate Guide to Paradesi Synagogue

The oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth sits in Mattancherry, Kochi. Chinese tiles, copper plates from 1000 CE, and a clock with four scripts. Here's your visiting guide.

Synagogue·Mattancherry