Madurai

Madurai is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in South Asia, centred on the Meenakshi Amman Temple — a sprawling Dravidian complex whose twelve gopurams, encrusted with thousands of painted stucco figures, dominate the city's skyline. The city's streets have functioned as a commercial and pilgrimage hub for over two millennia and maintain an intensity of religious activity particularly at dawn and dusk. Madurai's jasmine market, active through the early morning hours, is a secondary photography subject.