Kodungalloor (Kerala) Feb 25 : The prestigious Muziris Heritage Project of the Kerala Tourism department will be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee in Thrissur district on Saturday.

The Muziris Heritage Project is an effort to conserve and showcase a culture of more than 3000 years.

From as early as 3000 BC, Kerala had established itself as a major centre for spices, with the ancient port of Muziris as its hub.

As the focal point of commerce for over 2500 years, this bustling seaport traded everything from spices to precious stones with the Greeks, Romans and the rest of the world.

To reinstate the historical and cultural significance of the legendary port of Muziris, the Government of Kerala had initiated the Muziris Heritage Project with active support of the central government.

Muziris was a key port and the centre of trade between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean regions.

Pepper, precious stones, silk, beads, ivory and pottery were exported from here to West Asia and Rome in exchange for gold coins, glass, wine and wheat.

For centuries, the land of Kerala mesmerised Babylonians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Arabs, Chinese, Romans and Greeks, welcoming them to come and trade and even settle there.

The port of Muziris is mentioned in the 1st century travelogues, ancient Sangam texts and Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder's encyclopaedic work, Natural History.

Muziris mysteriously disappeared one day and researches point to the port's location then as the mouth of the Periyar river in Kodungalloor near here.