Religious sites in Madurai.....

             Meenakshi Amman Temple is a historic Hindu temple located on the south side of river Vaigai in Madurai, and is one of the most prominent landmarks of the city. It is dedicated to Parvati, known as Meenakshi, and her consort, Shiva as Sundareswarar. The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2500 year old city. The complex houses 14 gopurams (gateway towers) ranging from 45-50m in height, the tallest being the southern tower, 51.9 metres (170 ft) high. There are also two golden sculptured vimana (shrines) over the sanctum of the main deities. The temple is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, and has been mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature, though the present structure was built during 1623 to 1655 CE. The temple attracts 15,000 visitors a day, which grows to around 25,000 on Fridays. There are an estimated 33,000 sculptures in the temple, and it was in the list of top 30 nominees for the "New Seven Wonders of the World".

           Koodal Azhagar Temple is a Vishnu temple located in the city. It has idols of Navagraham (nine planet deities), which are otherwise found only in Shiva temples. Alagar Kovil is a celebrated Vishnu temple 21 km northeast of Madurai situated on the foothills of Solaimalai. The deity, Azhagar, is believed to be the brother of Meenakshi, the presiding deity at the Meenakshi temple. The festival calendars of these two temples overlap during the Meenakshi Thirukalyanam festival. Pazhamudircholai, one of the other six abodes of the Hindu god Murugan, is located atop the Solaimalai hill.

           Kazimar Big Mosque is the oldest Muslim place of worship in the city. It was constructed under the supervision of Kazi Syed Tajuddin, who is believed to be a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He came from Oman and received the piece of land as a gift from the Pandya ruler, Kulasekara Pandiyan, during the 13th century. This is claimed to be the oldest Islamic monument in Madurai.The dargah of Madurai Hazrats, called Madurai Maqbara, is located inside the mosque. Thiruparankundram is a hill 8 km away from Madurai, where the Hindu god Murugan is said to have married Deivanai. The temple is the first among the six holy abodes of Murugan, the Aarupadai Veedu, literally "Six Battle Houses", and one of the most visited tourist spots in Madurai, next only to the Meenakshi Amman Temple. The temple has a wide range of Hindu gods carved on the walls. A dargah is located at the top of the Tiruparankundam hill, where the cemetery of a Muslim, Hazrat Sultan Sikandhar Badushah Shaheed Radiyallah Ta'al anhu, is located. He came from Jeddah along with Hazrat Sulthan Syed Ibrahim Shaheed Badushah of Madinah during the early 13th century.

           Goripalayam Mosque is located in Gorippalayam, the name of which is derived from the Persian word gor, meanings grave. The graves of Hazrat Sulthan Alauddin Badhusha, Hazrat Sulthan Shamsuddeen Badhusha and Hazrat Sulthan Habibuddin (Ghaibuddin) Badhusha are found here.

           St. Mary’s Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Madurai.