“Each Ghat has its own miraculous qualities and powers of healing and this city of temples has over 500 temples built over different eras with varied architectural styles”, or so promised the guide. The reality was quite different; one of the few times we, as foreigners, were mistreated

Cows block tiny passages, or lay idly in front of high speed internet shops. Signs advertise daily airport dropping and ayurvedic cures for your ailments. On the ghats, beggars, Sadhus, pilgrims, touts and tourists mingle easily. Bright red spots show the trail of betel chewers; cow patties and pigeon droppings lie right next to an impromptu samosa stand. Sadhus wait under their umbrellas for the faithful to arrive, or troll the steps posing for tourists and extracting their baksheesh.

According to the Bible, Christ was taken outside Jerusalem to a hill known as Golgotha, or Mt. Calvary as it is referred to now days, and put to death by crucification He was then buried in a nearby burial crypt.