Peshawar
Welcome to Peshawar
THE North Frontier Province, or NWFP runs over 1,100 km(680 miles) along the border of Afghanistan. Peshawar is its capital, and the Vale of Peshawar ,fertile and well watered by the Kabul and swat rivers,is its heart. This was also the heart of the ancient kingdom of Gandhara anr rich in archaeological remains. Hospitality reigns in this land of contrast and beauty. Peshawar has enjoyed the reputation of being the center of attraction for tourists since centuries. The Capital and the largest city of the North West Frontier Province (N.W.F.P), Peshawar, has enjoyed tremendous historical, Military and political importance because of the Khyber Pass which has been a vintage point as a gateway for invaders of the sub-continent. The N.W.F.P capital is divided into three sections, the old city, cantonment and a modern residential area.
History of Peshawar:
Peshawar derives its name from a Sanskrit word "Pushpapura", meaning the city of flowers. Peshawar's flowers were even mentioned in Mughal Emperor Babur's memoirs.
Peshawar is old, so old that its origins are lost in antiquity, founded over 2,000 years ago by the Kushan Kings of Gandhara, it has had almostas many names as rulers.
After the Kushan era, Peshawar declined into an obscurity not broken until the 16th century. Mughul emperor Babar came to Pesahwar, he found a city called Begam and rebuilt the fort there, in 1530. His grandson, Akber, formally gave the name Peshawar which means "The Place at the Frontier" and much improved the bazaars and fortifications. Earlier it had been known as the "City of Flowers" and the "City of Grain". In the days of the Kushan King it was called the "Lotus Land".Sher Shah Suri, his successor, turned Peshawar renaissance into a boom when he ran his Dehli-to-Kabul Shahi Road through the Khyber Pass. Thus Mughals turned Peshawar into "City of Flower" by planting trees and laying out gardens.Peshawar was the center of Buddist Gandhara civilization and an important place of pilgrimage. As Buddhism declined in international importance, Peshawar also fell on hard times.
In the 9th century the provincial capital was shifted by the Hindu Shahi kings to Hund on the Indus. After the invasion of Mahmood of Ghazni, all traces of gentle, artistic Gandhara were lost. The great Babur marched through historic Khyber Pass to conquer South Asia in 1526 and setup the Mughal Empire in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent Peshawar not regain any of its former glories until the advent of the Mughals in the 16th century.
When Marco Polo visited Peshawar province in 1275 or there about, he found a place "The people have peculiar language, they worship idols and have an evil disposition". But these days Pathan hospitality is legendary, and since conversion to Islam, worshipping idols has ceased.
Mahabat Khan Mosque
| On one of my trips I was taking an evening bus to Lahore that would arrive there in the early morning. As the bus was leaving at 9PM, I had the full day to spend in the city, checked out of my hotel. This proved to be a blast, I took tea across the old city every few blocks at a shop. We would sip sugared green tea, they would ask me about myself. I could ask about their shop, their merchandise, and about the city. This was an excellent time to practice my Urdu and be able to people watch without being the center of attention. Hospitality and curiosity are so strong here that it was hard to get a block without an offer of tea. After the afternoon crossing the old city, I got to a large park near a major bus transit hub. There I saw people selling most everything found on this earth, including this guy who tried to sell me a disposable camera or a knife. Every street merchant concentrates on handy items like this, though the correlation of the two had me concerned until he smiled. General Information Population: 750,000 |
To it’s north and west, thousands of kilometers of barren deserts and stark mountains form the borders with Iran and Southern Afghanistan while due east, it is divided from the rest of Pakistan by the Kirther and Sulaiman mountain ranges. Towards the south, along the Arabian Sea, stretch 600 kilometers of deserted sandy beaches of the Makran Coast. Most of Baluchistan lies outside the Monsoon System of weather therefore, the climate is extremely dry. The annual rainfall is of about 15 centimeters, and even less along the Makran Coast.
In terms of physical geography, Baluchistan has more in common with Western Asia than with the Sub-Continent. It’s wild & mysterious vistas of arid waste-lands, great deserts, and formidable mountain ranges of amazing rock formations (dramatically contoured and twisted by the earth’s violent geological movements) make it an exotic and dramatic area to visit. It’s dry climate combined with the natural geographical features make it one of the most daunting environments for successful human habitation. Therefore, it is sparsely populated. Many observers think that the region resembles the surface of the moon.
Baluchistan is populated by a tribal society of Nomadic and semi-Nomadic tribes. The most important are the Brahvis, Baluchis and Pathans who speak Brahvi, Baluchi and Pushto respectively. The north east of this Province receives rain and snowfall which support juniper forests, cultivated land and orchards, producing apples, almonds, apricots, peaches and grapes. Most of the people in central Baluchistan lead semi-nomadic life herding sheep, goat and camels, while others are subsistence farmers and labourers working in Punjab and Sind during winter months. A small portion of Baluchis also work in the Arabian-Gulf States. Some areas of the South, near the Makran Coast, are famous for growing 300 different varieties of dates.
Archaeological discoveries have confirmed that Baluchistan has been inhabited from the Stone Age of 50,000 years ago. The important Neolithic excavation-site at “Mehargarh” (7000-3000 B.C.) is the oldest in the Sub-Continent. Archaeologists believe that as early as 6000 B.C.,
Covering an area of 62,000 sq. kilometers, Makran forms the southern most strip of Baluchistan, the largest but least populated province of Pakistan. Its one of the 6 divisions of Baluchistan province having over 600 km. of coastline. 
It is hard to envisage the vast wilderness of this remote area where miles and miles of virgin golden beaches stretch along the sea in bright sunshine and
The coast has several tiny fishing villages while main towns Gwadar, Ormara, Jiwani and Pasni have small fishing harbours where the fisherman can be seen coming in with their catch every morning and evening. Gwadar, Pasni, Ormara, Jiwani, Turbat and Panjgur all have airports connecting them with Karachi and Quetta.
