Varanasi – India’s oldest city

Varanasi - river shore

Varanasi (Skt. वरणासी), Kashi (Hindi काशी), Benares (Hindi बनारस) – these are all the names of one of the most ancient cities in the world. It’s often called “Varanasi city of the dead”. In fact, there are far fewer dead in this place than in any other city, because they are burned here. Hindus do … Read more

Gili islands

Gili islands

To the northwest of the island of Lombok, there are three small islands, commonly called Gili. In fact, the word “gili” means a small island in the language of the inhabitants of Lombok Sasak. So, the entire ridge of islands around (and there are more than 40) is called gili. But these three are very … Read more