Varanasi is a holy city for both Hindus and Buddhists. It is also one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world with records dating back to the 11th century BC. Historically the city was known by two other names; Banaras used by the British and Kashi is the ancient name.
For Buddhist, the city is holy because of the once forested area outside the city where Buddha gave his very first sermon. Buddhist make pilgrimages from all over the world to see the sacred site. The place is now called Sarnath. Buddha gave his sermon under a tree in around the year 600 BC. Two hundred years later a king came to that same spot and saw people walking all over it. He was a devoted follower of the Buddhist faith. He believed the site to be sacred and ordered a stupa (solid temple) to be built
on the exact spot so that no one could disrespect that site any longer. The original stupa still stands. Since the stupa was raised many monasteries and religious sites were built around it. Most of the building are in ruins from the Muslim kings who sent in their armies to destroy all things Buddhist. That is why less than 5% of Indians today are Buddhist. Most people fled to China and Southeast Asia.
Hindus believe the city was the home of Shiva one of the three principal deities of Hinduism. The River Ganges which flows along the edge of the city is an important part of their faith. Many rituals are performed by the local Hindus in honor of the deities. We had an opportunity to witness several of them.
The most famous is the Aarti that is performed every night in unison by 7 Bramas (holy men). The Aarti is a ceremony to honor Goddess Ganga (Ganges River Goddess) and thank her for her blessings. It is also a ritual of putting her to sleep at night. During the ceremony, the priests use incense, fire, flowers, smoke, peacock fans and yak hair while chanting mantras to Goddess Ganga. Thousands of Indian pilgrims come to Varanasi every day to be a part of the rituals. Today there are a small amount of western tourists that come to witness it as well.
Our walk back from the Aarti ceremony was crazy. There are thousands of people, cars honking, rickshaws, motorbikes, salesman, beggars, cows in the road and very heavy traffic. We made it but it was intense!
Early in the morning, along the bank of the Ganges there is a smaller 
ceremony performed to wake up Goddess Ganga. We were there at sunrise around 5:30am to be a part of this ritual. The same items are used during the chanting of the mantras. During this time of the morning Hindus come to the riverbank to bathe in the holy water of the Ganges. They believe that their sins are washed away and their soul becomes as pure as a new-born baby.
Just after sunrise we took a boat trip along the river to get a view of the activities from the water.
The local people use the river for many other daily tasks as well. Some of the hotels wash their linen and towels in the river. There are fisherman bringing the catches to market. People are doing their dishes and personal laundry in the river water. We even saw people drinking the water directly from the river.
One of the most interesting sites along the riverbank are the crematoriums. Hindus believe that when they die, they should be cremated and so their soul goes back into the elements of life (earth, sky, air, water and fire). It must be done in open air so their being is free to move on. If done inside, it may become trapped. Further, if they are cremated in the holy city of Varanasi and their ashes put into the holy 
River Ganges, then they will be able to skip their reincarnations are go straight to heaven. Along the River Ganges in Varanasi the fires burn 24 hours a day every day of the year. It is common to see a body wrapped in white linen being prepared for cremation. There are many other parts to this very important ritual to ensure happiness for the deceased in the afterlife.
Since temperatures reach well over 100 degrees during the day, we set out on a heritage walk through the alleys of old town. For two hours we followed our guide through the twists and turns of the narrow streets exerting much effort to avoid the motorbikes, cows, dogs, monkeys, goats, trash and poop and cover the streets. While fascinating, it is also extremely dirty which makes the smell hard to handle.
All through out old town people are selling flowers that are used as gifts to the gods and goddess in the temples, decoration for weddings and during the daily ceremonies along the river.
Our time in India was filled with history and culture. After 10 days we had to say goodbye and continue our trip with a stop in Dubai.