Varanasi is one of the oldest and holiest cities in the world. It is the site on the Ganges River where Hindus come to bathe and send off their dead. There are a series of ghats (pronounced "gots") that lead down to the river. Ghats are essentially steps. Hindus bathe in the river believing it will cleanse their souls. Not wanting to grow an eleventh toe, we steered clear of the river.
Varanasi and the Ganges
We did, however, go on a boat ride. It was interesting to go along the ghats at night, where you could see fires burning. Hindus burn the bodies of their dead and then put the remains in the Ganges. However, certain types of bodies - such as women and children - aren't burned. Instead, a rock is tied to their corpses and they are sunken in the river. Really makes you want to go swimming, right??
"Varanasi is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together." --Mark Twain
The river sounds like a kind of "stew". I hope you are eating well.
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