Peshawar

Peshawar

Peshawar means City on the Frontier in Persian, is the provincial capital of the North-West Frontier Province and Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. It is located on the edge of the Khyber Pass. Historically it used to be one of the main trading centers and crossroads between the Indian. It is said by some historians that Peshawar had a population of 120,000 in the year 100 B.C., making it the seventh most populous city in the world.

Babar, the founder of the Moghal dynasty came to Peshawar from what is today Uzbekistan and found Begram and rebuilt the fort there, in 1530. The great Moghal Akbar formally named the city Peshawar which means “The Place at the Frontier”.

The population of Peshawar is 982,816. Its environment has suffered tremendously due to an ever increasing population. It is a quiet and peaceful city, but overcrowded and polluted for it has not grown as much in size and capacity as the population has.

Maximum temperature in Peshawar during summer is over 40 °C and the minimum is 25 °C while in winter the minimum temperature is 4°C and maximum is 18.35 °C.

Prominent sites.

Bala Hisar Fort

Covering an area of about 15 acres and with the height of about 90 feet above ground level,
the Bala Hisar Fort is one of the most historic places of Peshawar. It stands on a high mound in the northwestern corner of Peshawar and gives a panoramic view of the entire Peshawar valley.

Mohabbat Khan Mosque

The 17th century Mosque â€œMohabbat Khan Mosque” is named after the Moghal governor Nawab Mohabbat Khan. There is an ablution pond in the middle of the courtyard and a single row of rooms around the sides. Three fluted domes shelter the interior of the prayer hall.

Khyber Pass

Because of its historic and geographic importance, Khyber Pass is one of the most famous pass in the world. The Pass was one of the principal approaches of the armies of Alexander the Great, Timur, Babur Moghal Emperor, Mahmud Ghaznavi, and Nadir Shah. The pass starts from near Jamrud and ends west of Torkham, Afghanistan. The route passes Fort Maude and Ali Masjid to reach the narrowest point of the pass. The summit is at Landi Kotal, followed by a steep decline to Michni Kandao, Landi Khana and the Afghan border just east of Torkham. Jamrud is at an elevation of 491 m, while the summit at Landi Kotal is 1070 m. A road was built by the British through the Pass in 1879 and a railroad in the 1920s. One may travel by road from Peshawar via Jamrud Fort or by train (rail) which threads its way through 34 tunnels crossing 92 bridges and culverts and climbing around 1,200 meters to reach the border post at Torkham. Two or three coaches are pulled and pushed by two 1920 model steam engines.

Other sites to visit

• Hayat Abad
• Mattani.
• Bara Bridge
• Cunningham Clock Tower
• Chowk Yadgar
• Sikh Temple
• Mausoleum of Sheikh Imamuddin (1650)
• Mausoleum of Khoshal Khan Khatak.
• Shahi Bagh
• Wazir Bagh
• Peshawar Museum
• Islamia College