Kollam

Kollam (Malayalam: [kolːɐm] ;) is an ancient seaport and the fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake and is 71 kilometres (44 mi) northwest of Thiruvananthapuram. Kollam is one of India's oldest continuously inhabited cities,, with evidence of habitation stretching back to the megalithic period. The city has also been a maritime entrepôt for millennia, with the earliest attestation dating to the Phoenicians and Romans. It is the gateway to the Backwaters of Kerala, and is known for its cashew processing, coir manufacturing, and tourism industries. Kollam has had a commercial reputation since ancient times. The Arabs, Phoenicians, Chinese, Ethiopians, Syrians, Jews, Chaldeans, and Romans have all engaged in trade at the port of Kollam for millennia. Because of Chinese trade, Ibn Battuta mentioned Kollam in the 14th century as one of the five Indian ports he had seen during his twenty-four-year travels. Desinganadu's Rajas exchanged embassies with Chinese rulers while there was a flourishing Chinese settlement at Kollam. In the ninth century, on his way to Canton, China, Persian merchant Sulaiman al-Tajir found Kollam to be the only port in India visited by huge Chinese junks. Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller, who was in Chinese service under Kublai Khan in 1275, visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast, in his capacity as a Chinese mandarin. Kollam is also home to one of the seven churches that were established by St Thomas as well as one of the 10 oldest mosques believed to have been founded by Malik Deenar in Kerala. Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon is the first diocese in India. V. Nagam Aiya in his Travancore State Manual records that in 822...