Varanasi

• 20/05/2016 13:30
• India

The Varanasi, also known as Benares is a city of two millions inhabitants, built on the west bank of the Ganges River, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city, considered sacred by Hindus, Buddhists, and Tzainistes, while it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in history.

Everyday life and culture in Varanasi is closely associated with the River Ganges and the religious significance. The city, for thousands of years there has been a cultural and religious center in northern India. Many famous Indian philosophers, poets, writers and musicians lived there, until our days. In Varanasi preached Gautama Buddha first.

in Varanasi, is the headquarters of India's largest university, Banaras Hindu University. The townspeople speak a dialect of Hindi. Aliases listed in the city is: “city ​​of temples”, “the holy city of India”, “the religious capital of India”, “the city of lights”, “City of learning” and “the cultural capital of India”.

The American writer Mark Twain wrote about the city: “The Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old all this together”.