Peshawar; the city of proud Pakhtoons, the capital of the NWFP, is a frontier town, the meeting place of the subcontinent and Central Asia. It is also a place where ancient traditions rub against those of today, where the bazaar in the old city has changed little in the past hundred years except to have a modern university, some first-class hotels, several international banks and one of the best museums in Pakistan. Peshawar is located around 172 km (107 miles) west of Islamabad by road and around half an hour by air lines.
No other city is quite like old Peshawar. The bazaar within the walls is like an American Wild West movie costumed as a Bible epic. Pashtun tribesmen stroll down the street with their hands hidden within their shawls, their faces half obscured by the loose ends of their turbans. With his piercing eyes and finely chiseled nose, the Pakhtoon must be the handsomest man on earth. Afghan traders, stride proudly past in their huge black and white turbans. Overlooking all are the massive Bala Hisar Fort, still a military installation and the elegant Mahabat Khan Mosque still a place of prayer.
On the other side of the railway line is the cantonment, its tree lined streets wide and straight as they pass gracious administrative buildings and spacious bungalows commanding equally spacious gardens. Further west is University Town, Peshawar's newest section and the site of Peshawar University. Even further west is the sprawling township of Hayatabad edged by the Karkhano Markets (Industrial Markets) containing smuggled goods ranging from detergent bars to Hi-Fi Stereo Systems.
History
The fortunes of Peshawar are inextricably linked to the Khyber Pass, the eastern end of which it guards. The pass seems to have been little used in prehistoric times, and even in early historic times it was generally shunned as too narrow and thus too prone to ambush. Not until the powerful Kushans invaded Gandhara and pacified the area in the first century AD did the Khyber become a popular trade route. Since then, many emperors and rulers have ruled over this place and during this time, Peshawar has had as many names as its rulers. Moghul emperor Akbar, formally gave the city the name Peshawar which means "The Place at the Frontier". Earlier it had been known as the "City of Flowers" and the "City of Grains".
Peshawar owes its founding 2,000 years ago to these same Kushans. In the second century AD, Kanishka, the greatest of the Kushan kings, moved his winter capital here from Pushkalavati, 30 kilometres (20 miles) to the north. His summer capital was north of Kabul at Kapisa, and the Kushans moved freely back and forth through the Khyber Pass between the two cities, from which they ruled their enormous and prosperous empire for the next 400 years.
After the Kushan era, Peshawar declined into an obscurity not broken until the 16th century, following the Moghul emperor Babur?s decision to rebuild the fort here in 1530. Sher Shah Suri, his successor (or, rather, the usurper of his son?s throne), turned Peshawar?s renaissance into a boom when he ran his Delhi-to-Kabul sultanate through the Khyber Pass. The Moghuls turned Peshawar into a flowers? city (one of the meanings of its name) by planting trees and gardens. In the 16th and 17th Centuries, the Moghul emperors filled Peshawar with garden mosques and monuments rivaling those in Delhi and Lahore. But the Moghuls were not able to keep control over much of the Pashtun territory beyond the Peshawar valley. Moghul emperor Aurangzeb lost the Peshawar valley to a Pashtoon Poet warrior Khushal Khan Khattak in the 1680s.
In 1818, Ranjit Singh captured Peshawar for his Sikh Empire. He burned a large part of the city and felled the trees shading its many gardens for firewood. The following 30 years of Sikh rule saw the destruction of Peshawar?s own Shalimar Gardens and of Babur?s magnificent fort, not to mention the dwindling of the city?s population by almost half. Now, little remains of the glorious pieces of architecture and the beautiful gardens.
The British caused the Sikhs and occupied Peshawar in 1849 but, as much as Sikh rule had been hated, its British replacement aroused little enthusiasm. More or less continuous warfare between the British and the Pathans necessitated a huge British garrison. When the British built a paved road through the Khyber Pass, they needed to build numerous forts and pickets to guard it.
The British made Peshawar their head quarters. Edwardes College was established in 1855 as a boarding school and Islamia College in 1913. After partition, the founding of the Peshawar University in 1950 (with Islamia College as its nucleus) kicked off the cities? growth westwards out to the Jamrud Road.
Places in Peshawar
The Old City
The best reason to visit Peshawar is the Old City. It is filled with shouts of vendors and mule drivers, choked with tongas, rickshaws, motorcycles, bullock carts, and a fascinating parade of different people. Its meandering streets branch out into tiny dark passages full of overstuffed shops. From the cantonment, the old city is reached through the Khyber Bazar. Khyber Bazaar, full of doctors, lawyers and dentists, features billboards depicting sets of false teeth of nightmarish proportions. This is also the bus terminal for the Khyber Pass and for Kohat. Kabuli Gate, one of the walled city?s 16 gates, is at the end of Khyber Bazaar. (The wall survived until the mid-1950s, and though the names remain, the gates and the wall have, for the most part, disappeared.) This gate used to lead out into the Khyber and onto Kabul.
Qisa Khawani Bazaar
Extending from west to east in the heart of the city is the romantic 'Street of Story-tellers' - the Qissa Khawani Bazzar. In olden days, this was the site of camping ground for caravans and military adventures, where professional story-tellers recited ballads and tales of war and love to throngs of traders and soldiers. Today the story-tellers are gone but the atmosphere lingers on. Bearded tribesmen bargain with city traders over endless cups of green tea. Fruit stalls look small colourful pyramids. People from everywhere throng the crowded street. Afghans, Iraqis, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Afridis, and Shinwaris move around with ease and grace in their colourful native robes and run shoulders with the Western tourists-lost in a world so different, so enchanting.
Qissa Khwani (Story-tellers) Bazaar was described in the mid-l9th century by British Commissioner in Peshawar Sir Herbert Edwardes as ?the Piccadilly of Central Asia?. Here perhaps visiting travelers or the relaxing townsmen were regaled with stories by professional story-tellers, in the evening, in the many tea-shops. Hence the name Qissa Khwani (story telling). The tea-shops still adorn the bazaar front with their large brass samovars and numerous hanging teapots and tea-cups, though the legendary story-tellers are nowhere to be seen. Towering over the street are tall, narrow buildings with intricately carved balconies and window frames enclosing wooden shutters. Here you find many of Peshawar?s cheaper hotels and, in the evening, food stalls selling excellent kebabs and fry-ups. Meat is sold by weight and then cooked while you watch.
Brass and copper shops are in the street to the left (northwest) at the end of Qissa Khwani. These sell a range of new and old wares. The Peshawar Pottery is down a side street on the left, immediately after the brass shops. The wide range of ornamental and utilitarian pottery is glazed in strong earth colors. Tinsmiths work in the street leading to the pottery, using traditional methods to coat brass pots with tin to prevent the brass from poisoning food.
Bazaar Bater-bazan
'The Street of Partridge Lovers' lies on the left hand corner of Qissa Khawani Bazaar. It derives its name from the bird-market which stood here till a few decades ago and has now been replaced by stores and shops selling exquisitely engraved brass and copper ware. However, a single bride shop still remains as a long reminder of the not too distant past.
Other Bazaars
Back on the main street and beyond the copper market are shops selling blankets and shawls from the valleys of Swat and Kaghan. Made of hand-spun wool, they are predominantly red and black, with brightly patterned borders. The lane to the right (southeast), opposite the street to the pottery, leads to the cloth bazaar. Beyond that is the basket bazaar, which is full of baskets from Dera lsmail Khan, at the southern tip of the province. Here, also, is the Banjara Bazaar, which specializes in unusual decorative items such as bells, wooden beads and hair braids. The Peepul Mundi here, the main grain wholesale market, is named after a Peepul tree which was believed to be descended from the tree under which Buddha preached.
Chowk Yadgar
The Chowk Yadgar was erected in the memory of Colonel C. Hastings in 1892 AD by his friends. The chowk is in the city which is venue of all types of meetings which are held in Peshawar. Previously, there used to b e a domed structure here and now a modern concrete structure has taken its place. The main street from Peepul Mandi leads towards Chowk Yadgaar after passing through the Bird Market; where song birds are sold as pets in small cages, as in China. To the left are more cloth shops selling all types of chader?s (multi-purpose sheets) and block prints. Chowk Yadgaar is old Peshawar?s central square. The monument in the center commemorates the heroes of the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War and is the traditional place for assembling political rallies and demonstrations.
On the left (west) side of the square, money changers squat on hand-knotted carpets with their safes behind them and their pocket calculators at the ready. They will change any currency (illegally), but will accept only large notes.
Andar Shahr Bazar
From Chowk Yadgaar are two interesting walks, one to the west and the other to the east. Running off the square to the west is the Andarshahr (Inside City) Bazaar, a narrow street of gold and silversmiths selling jewelry (both tribal and modern), antique silver, old coins and military buttons and buckles. Shopkeepers will ply visitors with cups of sweet green tea brewed in huge copper samovars here.
Mohabbat Khan Mosque
Mahabat Khan Mosque is at the top of the hill to the right (north), its entrance is a narrow gateway between the jewelry shops. Built in the 1670s, this beautifully proportioned Moghul structure, named for a regional governor who served under both Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, is orthodox in design. Its open courtyard has an ablution pond in the middle and a single row of rooms around the sides. The prayer hall occupies the west side flanked by two tall minarets. According to the turn-of-the-century Gazetteer for the NWFP, the minarets were frequently used in Sikh times ?as a substitute for the gallows?. A fire that raged through the Andarshahr Bazaar in 1895 failed to destroy the mosque thanks only to the unremitting efforts of the faithful. The interior of the prayer hall is sheltered beneath three low fluted domes and is lavishly and colorfully painted with floral and geometric designs.
Mochi Lara Bazar & Ghr Khatri
In the alleys south east is the Mochi Lara, or the "Leather Bazar", and the Sabzi Mandi, "The Vegetable Bazar". Further ahead is the Meena Bazar. The Meena Bazar is a labyrinth of shops full of faceless, gliding burqa clad women. Half a km up is a great gate into a run down compound called Ghor Khatri.
East of Chowk Yadgaar is the fruit and vegetable stalls and an alley full of hardware shops. Further Beyond is the Cunningham Clock Tower. It was built in 1900 ?in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen Empress? but is named after Sir George Cunningham, who came along somewhat later: Cunningham started his Asian career as the political agent assigned to North Waziristan (in the Tribal Areas) and advanced to become governor of the NWFP in 1937-46 and again after Independence in 1947-8.
The Gor Khatri is a large Moghul caravanserai crowning the hill at the top end of Sethi Street. A huge Moghul gateway leads into a courtyard over 200 meters (650 feet) square, which was once surrounded on all four sides by rooms for travelers. In the second century AD, it was a Buddhist shrine and monastery known as the Tower of Buddha?s Bowl. With the decline of Buddhism, it became a Hindu shrine, and in Moghul times Shah Jahan?s daughter built a mosque here and surrounded it with the caravanserai. The Sikhs knocked down the mosque during their 19th-century rule and replaced it with a temple to Gorakhnath. This still stands in the southeastern corner of the courtyard, with a shrine to Nandi beside it. The Sikhs closed the caravanserai and installed their governor in the compound. Since that time it has housed a police post and other government offices.
Bala Hisar Fort
Built on a raised platform from the ground level, the Bala Hisar Fort stands at the north-western edge of the city. the original structure was raised in 1519 AD during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Babar. It was reconstructed in its present form by Sikhs who ruled over Peshawar valley between 1791 and 1849 AD.
Following the Katchery Road from Chowk Yadgaar leads to a row of shops selling holsters for guns and bandoleers for ammunition. Here, brooding over the highway to the north and the old city to the south squats the Bala Hisar Fort, which was built by the Sikhs in 1834 on the site of Babur?s earlier fort. The army still uses it, so it is closed to the public. However, visitors can obtain permits to visit it.
The Peshawar Museum
A red bricked Victorian Hall across the tracks from the old city, it has a good collection of Gandharan Art. Situated on the Grand Trunk Road in the Cantonment area, the museum houses a rich treasure of art, sculpture and historical relics, particularly of the Gandhara period (300 BC - 300 AD). The pieces on show at the museum include Graeco-Buddhist stone and stucco sculpture, gold, silver and copper coins, antique pottery, armour, old manuscripts, Buddha images, terra-coat plaques, antiques of ivory, shell and metal and a replica of the famous casket which contained the relics of Lord Buddha.
Smugglers Bazar
The place for contraband used to be Landi Kotal at the Khyber Pass, where smugglers from Afghanistan and the Tribal areas (Which have few import/customs duties) sell their western goodies, safely behind the tribal areas exempt from Pakistan Law. Now, Landi Kotal has come to Peshawar in the form of Karkhano Market, some kilometers beyond Hayatabad on Jamrud road adjacent to the boundary of the tribal areas. Don't expect turbanned merchants in tents, this is like a mini Hong Kong Bazar, with bright shops full of refrigerators, VCR's, and other electrical equipment. There is even a Marks & Spencer there. Safe enough in daylight, but at night, police can't help you out there.
In short, the variety of craft in which Peshawar excels even today is amazing and this is a part of the city's character often eclipsed by its martial tradition.
Tatara Park
Located in Phase I of Hayatabad, this park has evolved a lot from being just a simple garden lawn with man made lakes to a theme park. It is filled to the brim with different people during weekends or when the weather becomes suitable, this park is a splendind place to spend some time.
Naran Bagh
Situated close to Tatara Park, Naran Bagh is probably the largest Park in Peshawar. It houses a small zoo with rare birds and some other animals. Unlike Tatara Park, Naran bagh authorities have probably decided to keep the park more beautiful by working on splendid gardens. Now, situated close to the Naran Bagh is a sports complex which is home to cricket, hockey, football grounds and also tennis, squash, badminton courts. There is also a swimming pool here visited mostly by the city's elite.
Army Stadium
Obviously, this park is owned by the Army and the army does all the development here. Army stadium provides different forms of entertainment for both Kids and adults. Kids can play around in the theme park area whereas adults can have a stroll in the shopping arcade. Even the theme park is famous amongst the adults mainly for the "Pirate Boat". Behind the park is the stadium itself in which various activities are organised. Just recently, in 1999, this stadium was renamed to Kernel Sher Stadium in memory of Kernel Sher Shaheed who was martyred in the Kargil war with India. This stadium hosts the annual Sanati Numayish or "Industrial Exhibition" in which many goods are sold at cheap prices. Also featured here every year is a circus which has gained much popularity amongst the youth. Other National events are also held over here.
Food & Restaurants
Chapli Kebabs
Available almost everywhere, but the real flavour of these Chapli Kebabs lie in the restaurants of Landi Kotal.
Namak Mandi
Situated in the city besides the Shoba Bazar, this place has gained popularity amongst both the locals and visitors. It is full with restaurants serving what pashtuns love the most, i.e., Meat. Its Tikka and Karhayi dishes are worth eating. The whole market is filled with the aroma of barbecued Tikkas of Sheep and Lambs (Mutton). Just passing through the market is a very difficult thing to do because the very aroma is irresistable and it lures you to eat before you leave the place.
Chinese Food
The chinese food is famous here among the cities elite and there are a few restaurants situated along the Mall. Probably the most famous of them is the Hong Kong restaurant.
As one goes out of Peshawar to the South, the country is green but as it gradually goes further, it is dominated by barren hills and dry mountsains. The desolate salt range is alien and forbidding, but has its own fascination. In summers, the dry white powdery salt looks almost like wind blown snow. The landscape becomes more flat and greener towards Bannu.
No other city is quite like old Peshawar. The bazaar within the walls is like an American Wild West movie costumed as a Bible epic. Pashtun tribesmen stroll down the street with their hands hidden within their shawls, their faces half obscured by the loose ends of their turbans. With his piercing eyes and finely chiseled nose, the Pakhtoon must be the handsomest man on earth. Afghan traders, stride proudly past in their huge black and white turbans. Overlooking all are the massive Bala Hisar Fort, still a military installation and the elegant Mahabat Khan Mosque still a place of prayer.
On the other side of the railway line is the cantonment, its tree lined streets wide and straight as they pass gracious administrative buildings and spacious bungalows commanding equally spacious gardens. Further west is University Town, Peshawar's newest section and the site of Peshawar University. Even further west is the sprawling township of Hayatabad edged by the Karkhano Markets (Industrial Markets) containing smuggled goods ranging from detergent bars to Hi-Fi Stereo Systems.
History
The fortunes of Peshawar are inextricably linked to the Khyber Pass, the eastern end of which it guards. The pass seems to have been little used in prehistoric times, and even in early historic times it was generally shunned as too narrow and thus too prone to ambush. Not until the powerful Kushans invaded Gandhara and pacified the area in the first century AD did the Khyber become a popular trade route. Since then, many emperors and rulers have ruled over this place and during this time, Peshawar has had as many names as its rulers. Moghul emperor Akbar, formally gave the city the name Peshawar which means "The Place at the Frontier". Earlier it had been known as the "City of Flowers" and the "City of Grains".
Peshawar owes its founding 2,000 years ago to these same Kushans. In the second century AD, Kanishka, the greatest of the Kushan kings, moved his winter capital here from Pushkalavati, 30 kilometres (20 miles) to the north. His summer capital was north of Kabul at Kapisa, and the Kushans moved freely back and forth through the Khyber Pass between the two cities, from which they ruled their enormous and prosperous empire for the next 400 years.
After the Kushan era, Peshawar declined into an obscurity not broken until the 16th century, following the Moghul emperor Babur?s decision to rebuild the fort here in 1530. Sher Shah Suri, his successor (or, rather, the usurper of his son?s throne), turned Peshawar?s renaissance into a boom when he ran his Delhi-to-Kabul sultanate through the Khyber Pass. The Moghuls turned Peshawar into a flowers? city (one of the meanings of its name) by planting trees and gardens. In the 16th and 17th Centuries, the Moghul emperors filled Peshawar with garden mosques and monuments rivaling those in Delhi and Lahore. But the Moghuls were not able to keep control over much of the Pashtun territory beyond the Peshawar valley. Moghul emperor Aurangzeb lost the Peshawar valley to a Pashtoon Poet warrior Khushal Khan Khattak in the 1680s.
In 1818, Ranjit Singh captured Peshawar for his Sikh Empire. He burned a large part of the city and felled the trees shading its many gardens for firewood. The following 30 years of Sikh rule saw the destruction of Peshawar?s own Shalimar Gardens and of Babur?s magnificent fort, not to mention the dwindling of the city?s population by almost half. Now, little remains of the glorious pieces of architecture and the beautiful gardens.
The British caused the Sikhs and occupied Peshawar in 1849 but, as much as Sikh rule had been hated, its British replacement aroused little enthusiasm. More or less continuous warfare between the British and the Pathans necessitated a huge British garrison. When the British built a paved road through the Khyber Pass, they needed to build numerous forts and pickets to guard it.
The British made Peshawar their head quarters. Edwardes College was established in 1855 as a boarding school and Islamia College in 1913. After partition, the founding of the Peshawar University in 1950 (with Islamia College as its nucleus) kicked off the cities? growth westwards out to the Jamrud Road.
Places in Peshawar
The Old City
The best reason to visit Peshawar is the Old City. It is filled with shouts of vendors and mule drivers, choked with tongas, rickshaws, motorcycles, bullock carts, and a fascinating parade of different people. Its meandering streets branch out into tiny dark passages full of overstuffed shops. From the cantonment, the old city is reached through the Khyber Bazar. Khyber Bazaar, full of doctors, lawyers and dentists, features billboards depicting sets of false teeth of nightmarish proportions. This is also the bus terminal for the Khyber Pass and for Kohat. Kabuli Gate, one of the walled city?s 16 gates, is at the end of Khyber Bazaar. (The wall survived until the mid-1950s, and though the names remain, the gates and the wall have, for the most part, disappeared.) This gate used to lead out into the Khyber and onto Kabul.
Qisa Khawani Bazaar
Extending from west to east in the heart of the city is the romantic 'Street of Story-tellers' - the Qissa Khawani Bazzar. In olden days, this was the site of camping ground for caravans and military adventures, where professional story-tellers recited ballads and tales of war and love to throngs of traders and soldiers. Today the story-tellers are gone but the atmosphere lingers on. Bearded tribesmen bargain with city traders over endless cups of green tea. Fruit stalls look small colourful pyramids. People from everywhere throng the crowded street. Afghans, Iraqis, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Afridis, and Shinwaris move around with ease and grace in their colourful native robes and run shoulders with the Western tourists-lost in a world so different, so enchanting.
Qissa Khwani (Story-tellers) Bazaar was described in the mid-l9th century by British Commissioner in Peshawar Sir Herbert Edwardes as ?the Piccadilly of Central Asia?. Here perhaps visiting travelers or the relaxing townsmen were regaled with stories by professional story-tellers, in the evening, in the many tea-shops. Hence the name Qissa Khwani (story telling). The tea-shops still adorn the bazaar front with their large brass samovars and numerous hanging teapots and tea-cups, though the legendary story-tellers are nowhere to be seen. Towering over the street are tall, narrow buildings with intricately carved balconies and window frames enclosing wooden shutters. Here you find many of Peshawar?s cheaper hotels and, in the evening, food stalls selling excellent kebabs and fry-ups. Meat is sold by weight and then cooked while you watch.
Brass and copper shops are in the street to the left (northwest) at the end of Qissa Khwani. These sell a range of new and old wares. The Peshawar Pottery is down a side street on the left, immediately after the brass shops. The wide range of ornamental and utilitarian pottery is glazed in strong earth colors. Tinsmiths work in the street leading to the pottery, using traditional methods to coat brass pots with tin to prevent the brass from poisoning food.
Bazaar Bater-bazan
'The Street of Partridge Lovers' lies on the left hand corner of Qissa Khawani Bazaar. It derives its name from the bird-market which stood here till a few decades ago and has now been replaced by stores and shops selling exquisitely engraved brass and copper ware. However, a single bride shop still remains as a long reminder of the not too distant past.
Other Bazaars
Back on the main street and beyond the copper market are shops selling blankets and shawls from the valleys of Swat and Kaghan. Made of hand-spun wool, they are predominantly red and black, with brightly patterned borders. The lane to the right (southeast), opposite the street to the pottery, leads to the cloth bazaar. Beyond that is the basket bazaar, which is full of baskets from Dera lsmail Khan, at the southern tip of the province. Here, also, is the Banjara Bazaar, which specializes in unusual decorative items such as bells, wooden beads and hair braids. The Peepul Mundi here, the main grain wholesale market, is named after a Peepul tree which was believed to be descended from the tree under which Buddha preached.
Chowk Yadgar
The Chowk Yadgar was erected in the memory of Colonel C. Hastings in 1892 AD by his friends. The chowk is in the city which is venue of all types of meetings which are held in Peshawar. Previously, there used to b e a domed structure here and now a modern concrete structure has taken its place. The main street from Peepul Mandi leads towards Chowk Yadgaar after passing through the Bird Market; where song birds are sold as pets in small cages, as in China. To the left are more cloth shops selling all types of chader?s (multi-purpose sheets) and block prints. Chowk Yadgaar is old Peshawar?s central square. The monument in the center commemorates the heroes of the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War and is the traditional place for assembling political rallies and demonstrations.
On the left (west) side of the square, money changers squat on hand-knotted carpets with their safes behind them and their pocket calculators at the ready. They will change any currency (illegally), but will accept only large notes.
Andar Shahr Bazar
From Chowk Yadgaar are two interesting walks, one to the west and the other to the east. Running off the square to the west is the Andarshahr (Inside City) Bazaar, a narrow street of gold and silversmiths selling jewelry (both tribal and modern), antique silver, old coins and military buttons and buckles. Shopkeepers will ply visitors with cups of sweet green tea brewed in huge copper samovars here.
Mohabbat Khan Mosque
Mahabat Khan Mosque is at the top of the hill to the right (north), its entrance is a narrow gateway between the jewelry shops. Built in the 1670s, this beautifully proportioned Moghul structure, named for a regional governor who served under both Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, is orthodox in design. Its open courtyard has an ablution pond in the middle and a single row of rooms around the sides. The prayer hall occupies the west side flanked by two tall minarets. According to the turn-of-the-century Gazetteer for the NWFP, the minarets were frequently used in Sikh times ?as a substitute for the gallows?. A fire that raged through the Andarshahr Bazaar in 1895 failed to destroy the mosque thanks only to the unremitting efforts of the faithful. The interior of the prayer hall is sheltered beneath three low fluted domes and is lavishly and colorfully painted with floral and geometric designs.
Mochi Lara Bazar & Ghr Khatri
In the alleys south east is the Mochi Lara, or the "Leather Bazar", and the Sabzi Mandi, "The Vegetable Bazar". Further ahead is the Meena Bazar. The Meena Bazar is a labyrinth of shops full of faceless, gliding burqa clad women. Half a km up is a great gate into a run down compound called Ghor Khatri.
East of Chowk Yadgaar is the fruit and vegetable stalls and an alley full of hardware shops. Further Beyond is the Cunningham Clock Tower. It was built in 1900 ?in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen Empress? but is named after Sir George Cunningham, who came along somewhat later: Cunningham started his Asian career as the political agent assigned to North Waziristan (in the Tribal Areas) and advanced to become governor of the NWFP in 1937-46 and again after Independence in 1947-8.
The Gor Khatri is a large Moghul caravanserai crowning the hill at the top end of Sethi Street. A huge Moghul gateway leads into a courtyard over 200 meters (650 feet) square, which was once surrounded on all four sides by rooms for travelers. In the second century AD, it was a Buddhist shrine and monastery known as the Tower of Buddha?s Bowl. With the decline of Buddhism, it became a Hindu shrine, and in Moghul times Shah Jahan?s daughter built a mosque here and surrounded it with the caravanserai. The Sikhs knocked down the mosque during their 19th-century rule and replaced it with a temple to Gorakhnath. This still stands in the southeastern corner of the courtyard, with a shrine to Nandi beside it. The Sikhs closed the caravanserai and installed their governor in the compound. Since that time it has housed a police post and other government offices.
Bala Hisar Fort
Built on a raised platform from the ground level, the Bala Hisar Fort stands at the north-western edge of the city. the original structure was raised in 1519 AD during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Babar. It was reconstructed in its present form by Sikhs who ruled over Peshawar valley between 1791 and 1849 AD.
Following the Katchery Road from Chowk Yadgaar leads to a row of shops selling holsters for guns and bandoleers for ammunition. Here, brooding over the highway to the north and the old city to the south squats the Bala Hisar Fort, which was built by the Sikhs in 1834 on the site of Babur?s earlier fort. The army still uses it, so it is closed to the public. However, visitors can obtain permits to visit it.
The Peshawar Museum
A red bricked Victorian Hall across the tracks from the old city, it has a good collection of Gandharan Art. Situated on the Grand Trunk Road in the Cantonment area, the museum houses a rich treasure of art, sculpture and historical relics, particularly of the Gandhara period (300 BC - 300 AD). The pieces on show at the museum include Graeco-Buddhist stone and stucco sculpture, gold, silver and copper coins, antique pottery, armour, old manuscripts, Buddha images, terra-coat plaques, antiques of ivory, shell and metal and a replica of the famous casket which contained the relics of Lord Buddha.
Smugglers Bazar
The place for contraband used to be Landi Kotal at the Khyber Pass, where smugglers from Afghanistan and the Tribal areas (Which have few import/customs duties) sell their western goodies, safely behind the tribal areas exempt from Pakistan Law. Now, Landi Kotal has come to Peshawar in the form of Karkhano Market, some kilometers beyond Hayatabad on Jamrud road adjacent to the boundary of the tribal areas. Don't expect turbanned merchants in tents, this is like a mini Hong Kong Bazar, with bright shops full of refrigerators, VCR's, and other electrical equipment. There is even a Marks & Spencer there. Safe enough in daylight, but at night, police can't help you out there.
In short, the variety of craft in which Peshawar excels even today is amazing and this is a part of the city's character often eclipsed by its martial tradition.
Tatara Park
Located in Phase I of Hayatabad, this park has evolved a lot from being just a simple garden lawn with man made lakes to a theme park. It is filled to the brim with different people during weekends or when the weather becomes suitable, this park is a splendind place to spend some time.
Naran Bagh
Situated close to Tatara Park, Naran Bagh is probably the largest Park in Peshawar. It houses a small zoo with rare birds and some other animals. Unlike Tatara Park, Naran bagh authorities have probably decided to keep the park more beautiful by working on splendid gardens. Now, situated close to the Naran Bagh is a sports complex which is home to cricket, hockey, football grounds and also tennis, squash, badminton courts. There is also a swimming pool here visited mostly by the city's elite.
Army Stadium
Obviously, this park is owned by the Army and the army does all the development here. Army stadium provides different forms of entertainment for both Kids and adults. Kids can play around in the theme park area whereas adults can have a stroll in the shopping arcade. Even the theme park is famous amongst the adults mainly for the "Pirate Boat". Behind the park is the stadium itself in which various activities are organised. Just recently, in 1999, this stadium was renamed to Kernel Sher Stadium in memory of Kernel Sher Shaheed who was martyred in the Kargil war with India. This stadium hosts the annual Sanati Numayish or "Industrial Exhibition" in which many goods are sold at cheap prices. Also featured here every year is a circus which has gained much popularity amongst the youth. Other National events are also held over here.
Food & Restaurants
Chapli Kebabs
Available almost everywhere, but the real flavour of these Chapli Kebabs lie in the restaurants of Landi Kotal.
Namak Mandi
Situated in the city besides the Shoba Bazar, this place has gained popularity amongst both the locals and visitors. It is full with restaurants serving what pashtuns love the most, i.e., Meat. Its Tikka and Karhayi dishes are worth eating. The whole market is filled with the aroma of barbecued Tikkas of Sheep and Lambs (Mutton). Just passing through the market is a very difficult thing to do because the very aroma is irresistable and it lures you to eat before you leave the place.
Chinese Food
The chinese food is famous here among the cities elite and there are a few restaurants situated along the Mall. Probably the most famous of them is the Hong Kong restaurant.
As one goes out of Peshawar to the South, the country is green but as it gradually goes further, it is dominated by barren hills and dry mountsains. The desolate salt range is alien and forbidding, but has its own fascination. In summers, the dry white powdery salt looks almost like wind blown snow. The landscape becomes more flat and greener towards Bannu.
