There are few places on earth that can match Kerala in its natural beauty. And there are even fewer places to match it in history, cuisine and Culture. Kerala had trading relations with the Phoenicians and other seafaring cultures from time immemorial. Ma He the famous Chinese eunuch Admiral who led a flotilla in 1404 which dwarfed Columbus's expedition a century later, was all praises for Kerala. Other travelers and explorers of yore like Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo also visited Kerala and stayed on for many an year. They were all praises for the thriving culture and trade of India.
From ancient times the civilized nations of the West lived around the Mediterranean. Trade between the West and the East was carried out mainly through the silk route on land and the sea route through the Mediterranean. However this meant negotiating the Bosphoros straits spanning the two sides of the present-day Istanbul – formerly Constantinople. In the middle ages the rivalry between the Ottomans and the Europeans reached its heights, and the former shut off all sea-lanes through the strait. Europe was cut off from the East and had to depend heavily on the Arab merchants for their requirements of goods from the Orient, especially of spices. In desperation, Europeans sought an alternate route to the East round the southern tip of Africa. However the treacherous seas round the Cape of Good Hope proved too formidable for the Europeans and their fragile ships – The Cape of Good Hope was formerly called the Cape of Storms (Cabo das Tormentas). Many navigators such as Bartolomeu Dias perished in their attempts to find a route to the East.
From ancient times the civilized nations of the West lived around the Mediterranean. Trade between the West and the East was carried out mainly through the silk route on land and the sea route through the Mediterranean. However this meant negotiating the Bosphoros straits spanning the two sides of the present-day Istanbul – formerly Constantinople. In the middle ages the rivalry between the Ottomans and the Europeans reached its heights, and the former shut off all sea-lanes through the strait. Europe was cut off from the East and had to depend heavily on the Arab merchants for their requirements of goods from the Orient, especially of spices. In desperation, Europeans sought an alternate route to the East round the southern tip of Africa. However the treacherous seas round the Cape of Good Hope proved too formidable for the Europeans and their fragile ships – The Cape of Good Hope was formerly called the Cape of Storms (Cabo das Tormentas). Many navigators such as Bartolomeu Dias perished in their attempts to find a route to the East.
