Beypore
Located about 10 kms south of Kozhikode town at the mouth of the Chaliyar River,
is Beypore. Historically, it has a special place as being one of the prominent
ports and fishing harbours, and was also an important trade and maritime centre
during the days of the early Arab and Chinese travelers and later the Europeans.
Soon
after its prominence as a port and trade centre, Beypore slowly began to flourish
as a centre for shipbuilding, which was in great demand by merchants from Western
Asia. The boat-building yard at Beypore is famous for its traditional construction
of the Uru or the Arabian trading vessel. This tradition of shipbuilding is
nearly 1,500 years old, and the craftsmanship of the workers here is exceptional.
Traditionally, Arabs constitute the major chunk of buyers. They place orders
with their specifications and needs. Unlike modern day shipbuilding involving
the development of blue print and machinery to facilitate manufacturing of ships,
here, at Beypore everything is conceived in the minds of the workers, who as
a team execute the highly intricate woodwork to perfection. It is an amazing
aspect if one is to observe the manner in which the Uru takes shape with minimum
sophistication in production. The entire team observes certain work ethics,
of which discipline is the foremost. A visit to this historic place is a must
in order to have a close look at some of the deft fingers and alert minds, measuring
and fixing different parts of the ship to perfection.
Nearby attractions in Beypore include the fishing harbour, hardly a kilometer
from the shipbuilding yard and Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary, which is about 7 kms
from Beypore. The Kadalundi estuary is considered as a birdwatchers paradise,
due to the variety of local as well as migratory bird life. Migratory birds
flock here in large numbers during February-March.
The sanctuary is spread over a group of islands in a scenic area surrounded
by hillocks where the Kadalundi River flows into the Arabian Sea. The place
is locally known as Kadalundi Nagaram.
Getting there:
Nearest Railway Station: about 10 kms from Kozhikode town.
Nearest Airport: Karipur International Airport, about 23 kms from Kozhikode
town.
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