Chennai, India

We took the Chennai sightseeing tour from the ship. We went first to a temple (Mylapore) first constructed as early as nine centuries BC. The “newest” part of the temple is from the 1600s. The tower over the door is made of granite, which does not hold paint. A plaster has to be used to cover the granite, and then painted. This one was last painted in 2000, ten years ago, and it is still very brightly colored.


We then went to St. Thomas church, built in the city where St. Thomas died. Then to the museum to see the bronze statues of the Hindu gods.

Last, to Fort George, to see the St. Mary’s church, built by Elihu Yale, who was then married there. Yale collected money from the British (in 1684) to construct a university in New England, but by the time he got to New England, he had spent or stolen half the money, so he didn’t have enough to start a college. He gave the money to Salem college in New Haven on condition that they would change the name of the college to Yale.

Then to the little museum at the fort. Currently the Tamil Nadu government is housed in buildings in Fort George, but massive new beautiful buildings are under construction to house the government -- court, legislature and many administrative offices.

Gita was a great guide. She went to high school at Woodrow Wilson high school in Washington. Her dad was in the foreign service of India, and she lived many places. She then worked for eight years at the UN in New York.