Gyanvapi Mosque
Mughal mosque along the Ganges, Varanasi
This sight is located in Varanasi, India. For travel information about Varanasi, read the Varanasi Travel Guide. To prepare for a trip to India, read also the India Travel Guide. Looking for budget accommodation there? Use AsiaExplorers Budget Accommodation Guide, the no-frills website to cover your budget accommodation needs.
The Gyanvapi Mosque is an oddity for one of the holiest Hindu cities. When the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb came into power (by ruthlessly liquidating his siblings), he went about destroying all the Hindu temples in Varanasi, even changing the name of the city to Mohammadabad. Gyanvapi Mosque was built by him on the site of the holiest Hindu temple in Varanasi, the original Vishwanath Temple.
Gyanvapi Mosque, Varanasi.
After a Hindu warrior group called the Marathas managed to discharge the Muslim Mughals out of Varanasi were they able to construct a new Vishwanath Temple. The Gyanvapi Mosque is located north of Dashaswamedh Ghat, near Lalita Ghat along the Ganges in Varanasi. I believe the Archaeological Survey of India is in the midst of restoration it into a heritage site.
I passed through Gyanvapi Mosque when I was north riverbank of the Ganges. I also saw it towering over the structures on the river when I went boating in the evening.
The Gyanvapi Mosque as seen from the Ganges in the evening.
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