India - Goa ( old Goa churches, Ahswem, Anjuna )

Our place in Goa - Ashvem beach
Goa is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast. Goa is India's richest state with a GDP per capita two and a half times that of the country as a whole. It was ranked the best placed state by the Eleventh Finance Commission for its infrastructure and ranked on top for the best quality of life in India by the National Commission on Population based on the 12 Indicators.
Panaji is the state's capital, while Vasco da Gama is the largest city. The historic city of Margao still exhibits the cultural influence of the Portuguese, who first landed in the early 16th century as merchants and conquered it soon thereafter. Goa is a former Portuguese province; the Portuguese overseas territory of Portuguese India existed for about 450 years until it was annexed by India in 1961.
Goa is visited by large numbers of international and domestic tourists each year for its beaches, places of worship and world heritage architecture. It also has rich flora and fauna, owing to its location on the Western Ghats range, which is classified as a biodiversity hotspot.

Located in Old Goa, India, the Basilica of Bom Jesus is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The foundation stone was laid on 24th November 1594, and completed on 15th May 1605. It was raised to the status of a minor Basilica in 1946 and is considered to be one of the best examples of Baroque architecture in Goa. The church is called “Bom Jesus” meaning ‘good Jesus’ or ‘infant Jesus’ to whom it is dedicated. The Basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier in Goa.

St. Francis Xavier died on 3rd December 1552, on the Chinese island of Shangchuan, at the age of 46.
Before his final resting place in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in 1624, his body was buried in three different countries. Each time the body was exhumed, it was found to be fresh and incorrupt.
St Francis was regarded as a saint during his lifetime, and was canonized in 1662. His remains are ensconced in a glass container encased in a silver casket in the Basilica.

The Sé Catedral de Santa Catarina, known as Se Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Latin Rite Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Goa and Daman and the seat of the Patriarch of the East Indies. Located in Old Goa, India, the largest church in India is dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria. It is one of the oldest and most celebrated religious buildings in Goa and is one of the largest churches in Asia.
The Se Cathedral was built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese under Afonso de Albuquerque over a Muslim army, leading to the capture of the city of Goa in 1510. Since the day of the victory happened to be on the feast of Saint Catherine, the cathedral was dedicated to her.
It was commissioned by Governor George Cabral to be enlarged in 1552 on the remains of an earlier structure. The actual construction of the church began in 1562 under the reign of King Dom Sebastião. The Cathedral was finally completed in 1619 and was consecrated in 1640.
It originally had two towers, but one collapsed in 1776 and was never rebuilt.

Anjuna is a village in Goa, one of the twelve Brahmin comunidades of Bardez. Anjuna is world famous for its trance parties held on the beach during the tourist season.
 Anjuna also hosts the famous flea market (Every Wednesday) wherein you can purchase many things, ranging from fruits to jewelry, clothes and electronic devices. Without doubt the most important date in the Anjuna diary, market day sees scores of local and expat vendors descending on the market site at the far south of the beach, to haggle the day away over clothing, jewellery, souvenirs and a good deal, these days, of usual tourist tat. Pick through the rubbish (underfoot, quite literally) to seek out treasure, including sparkling ceiling hangings, dancing dolls, and posh frocks made from dazzling saris. Even if you don’t come home loaded with shopping, it’s an unmissable event, where you’ll find Goa’s old faithful hippies mingling with I Heart Goa–clad Indian tourists, package-holiday Brits and Russians, and young backpackers in search of bargain.