Saturday, May 16, 2009

Peshawar







Peshawar valley is one of the most colorful Pakistani cities (and that's saying a lot!) and the capital city of North West Frontier Province. Its proximity to the Afghan border, give it a real border town flavour, not unlike the Wild West towns of the USA in 19th century.
Peshāwar (known as Pesha-awar or Purushapura in the old days of Gandhara's history) is a city in Pakistan 's North-West Frontier Province, near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass.
Peshawar used to be the capital of the Gandhara empire by Kaniska the First at 58 BC. Being among the ancient cities of the world, it has been for centuries and centuries a centre of trade between the Indian Subcontinent, Afghanistan, central Asia and Europe.
The formalities of dress and manner give way here to a free and easy style, as men encounter men with a firm hand-clasp and a straight but friendly look.



Hefty handsome men in baggy trousers and long, loose shirts, wear bullet studded bandoleers across their chests or pistols at their sides as a normal part of their dress, but nowadays you would not be able to see the guns anymore as carying guns has been made illegal.
There is just that little touch of excitement and drama in the air that makes for a frontier land. An occasional salvo of gun fire- no, not a tribal raid or a skirmish in the streets but a lively part of wedding celebrations. Although just-for-fun gun firing has also been banned now you might just be able to hear some.
The main sights in town and in its sorroundings are, Peshawar Museum in Peshawar cantt, the old Peshawar city, the Qisa Khawani bazaar, Sadar bazaar, the spectecular architecture of Masjid Mohaabt Khan in old city, the Fort Bala-Hissaar, Islamia College, Peshawar University, Rose Garden of Agriculture University Peshawar, the largest Shopping Mall of Pakistan - The Karkhano Market, the guns industry at Darra Adam Khael, the tomb of a sofi scholar and saint, Kaka Sahib Nowshera, the Maqbara (tomb) and Library of legendary sofi poet and leader - Khoshal Khan Khattak at Akora Khattak, the venture spot of two famous rivers of subcontinent, River Indus and River Kabul at Attock and the Mughal erra Attock Fort. You can enjoy hill stations just on few hours drive away from Peshawar, such as Swat, Chitral Kaghan, Kohat
From Peshawar you can visit the Khyber Pass, which still is the most important pass between central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. For centuries and centuries armies have swept down to plunder the fertile plains of the Indus valley.

Source : world66.com/asia/southasia/pakistan/peshawar

No comments:

Post a Comment