Woman at the Ghat

The Holy City

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September 6th 2008
Varnasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and it is the relentless, merciless continuity of this habitation that gives the city its unique flavor. This is not a Brugges or a Colonial Williamsburg, scrubbed clean and made palatable for tourists. Varanasi is loud. It smells bad. Traffic, and the resulting smog, is overpowering. Within minutes of our arrival, our throat ... read more

Asia » India » Uttar Pradesh » Varanasi

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The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab in... ... read more