Varanasi or Benares is a large city in Uttar Pradesh.
Religious capital of India from the earliest times, it enjoys a great
reputation for Holiness and the knowledge of his wise. Legend reports that
there are 3,000 years, the greatest philosophers already flocked there to
meditate and pray. But it is more than likely that Varanasi was founded in the 7th century
BCE. Symbol of Hinduism, it was plundered and destroyed repeatedly by the
Mughal attackers and in particular by the Emperor Aurangzeb. In 1775, the city came under British control.
Varanasi is fully located on the left bank of the Ganges,
facing the rising sun, the other side being devoid of any construction is
described not Benares, it lives and it is on the brink of its ghats, these
stairs which run along the Ganges on almost seven kilometres, best captures the
essence of Hinduism. On the ghats, beats the heart of Benares which awakens at
dawn for ritual baths in the cleansing waters of the Ganges River where a
multitude of pilgrims perform their meditations and prayers. It comes to
Varanasi to pray but also to die.
Early in the morning (not privatized) boat on the Ganges
along the ghats. Then, visit of the city. The main temple of the city is
Vishvanatha, the Golden Temple. Built in the 10th century, it was repeatedly
destroyed and replaced by a mosque. The current building, whose construction
took 27 years, dates from the middle of the 18th century and is forbidden to
non-Hindus. The city is an important University Center and the headquarters of
the Banaras Hindu University, one of the oldest universities dedicated to the
study of Sanskrit. Bharat Mata Mandir is a museum where you can admire a
gigantic map of the India in relief. Then, stroll in the old Benares, SIP city
of temples scattered in a maze of alleys. It is here that the atmosphere of the
city is the most intense.
The city, known for its ghats along the Ganges, also
contains another treasure: it is the capital of silk. In some neighbourhoods,
the sector is living most households, trades transmitted from father to son.
There weavers in Muslim families and designers in Hindu families who finalize
sales. The production of silk is renowned all over the world and people come
from far away to get.
