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Home > Travel Asia > Asia Destinations > Kottayam
Kottayam
India officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second most populous country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world. India is a union of twenty-eight states and seven federally-governed union territories. New Delhi is the capital of India.
Kottayam is a city and a municipality in Kottayam district in the Indian state of Kerala. An important trading center of commercial crops and a publishing centre in Kerala, Kottayam is also the administrative capital of Kottayam District. The town has been in the forefront of modern education in Kerala from the nineteenth century. In 1989 it achieved the distiction of being the first municipal town India to achieve 100 percent literacy.
The name Kottayam is said to have come from Kotta Akam in Malayalam, meaning inside the fort. The Rajas of Thekkumkur, an independent little kingdom to which Kottayam area belonged, ruled their domain from a location in the present day Kottayam called Thazhathangadi. When, in the mid-18th century, Marthanda Varma of Travancore annexed Thekkumkur, Kottayam area, along with the areas of the rest of what is today's Kottayam District, became part of the Kingdom of Travancore. After Indian independence, Kottayam eventually became the headquarers of the present Kottayam District.
The old seminary of the Malankara Orthodox Church was the first institution to start English education in Southern India. Temples, Churches are Reflecting the religious make up of the population, Hindu temples and Christian churches dot the townscape. Notable among them are the Thirunakkara Mahadeva temple and two churhes known as Cheriya Palli and Valiya Palli. Thirunakkara Mahadeva temple, at the heart of the town, is a Shiva temple built in the Keralian style of temple architecture, and with interior murals depicting themes from the Hindu epics. Kottayam is a major center of Syrian Christians of Kerala. The Syro-Malabar rite of the Roman Catholic church has an Archeparchy based in Kottayam.
Kottayam is said the place of best geographical environment and can trace its origins back to prehistoric times. It enjoys a very positive reputation with worldwide travelers.
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