Varanasi

Page Up  Back to Thumbnails India Map List India Photos Page 6 of 6

Varanasi, they say you either love it or hate it.  I loved it. Some claim it is the oldest city in the world and it has certainly been a center of culture and learning for over 2000 years.  With it's narrow little streets it feels very old but in fact few of its buildings are more than a century of two old.  

Formerly known as Benares,  its current name is older still and reflects its position between two rivers, the Varuna and the Assi.

It is an auspicious location as the Ganges at this point flows from the South to its origin in the Himalayas in the North.

 

Street Scene.

One of the best ways to see something of the old city is to take a cycle rickshaw.  With congestion like this it is even possible to take photographs on the move.

 

Lolarkeshvara Shiva Temple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below:

Lolark Kund one of Varanasi's  oldest sacred sites, is a rectangular tank at the bottom of a 50' flight of stairs.

Lolark means "trembling sun" and the Kund is dedicated to Surya the Sun God whose reflection shimmers in the water of the tank.

Tens of thousands of Hindus visit on the annual festival of Lolark Shasti.  They come to worship Surya, bathe and pray for the birth of a son.  Those whose prayers have been answered bring back their sons for a celebratory bathe.

Page Up  Back to Thumbnails India Map List India Photos Page 6 of 6