PESHAWAR

Peshawar derives its name from a Sanskirt word, “Pushpapura” meaning the city of flowers. Peshawar’s flowers were mentioned even in Mughal Emperor Babur’s memoirs. Alexander’s legions and the southern wing of his army were held up here in 327 BC for forty days at a fort excavated 27 kms North-East of Peshawar at “Pushkalawati” (the lotus city), now modern Charsadda. The Moghul Emperor Babur marched through the historic Khyber Pass to conquer South Asia in 1526 AD and to set up the Great Mughal Empire. The Khyber Pass and Peshawar Valley have resounded to the tramp of marching feet as successive armies hurtled down the crossroads of history, a pathway of commerce, migration and invasion by the Aryans, Scythians, Persians, Greeks, Bactrians, Kushans, Huns, Turks, Mongols and Mughals.

Peshawar is now, as always, very much a frontier town. The formalities of dress and manner give way here to a free and easy style, as men encounter men with a firm handclasp and a straight but friendly look. There is just that little touch of excitement and drama in the air that makes for a frontier town. North and South of Peshawar spreads the vast tribal area where the biggest tribal society in the world lives. Their typical martial and religious character has been moulded by their heroes like Khushal Khan Khattak, the warrior poet and Rehman Baba, a preacher and also poet of Pushto language. Today, they themselves guard the Pak-Afghan border along the great passes of the Khyber, the Tochi, the Gomal and others on Pakistan’s territory, but before independence, they successfully defied mighty empires, like the British and the Mughals and many others before them, keeping the border simmering with commotion and flame of freedom proudly burning. To name a few of the attractions of Peshawar are:

·        Qissa Khawani Bazaar

·        Mahabat Khan Mosque

·        Qasim Ali Khan Mosque

·        Chowk Yadgar

·        Ghanta Ghar or Clock Tower

·        Bala Hisar Fort

·        Peshawar Museum

·        The Khyber Pass