Discovering Peshawar

The whole city of Peshawar is a highlight, walk along the small streets, taste the exotic smells, it is a delight for all sences.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking, and for larger distances take a tuk-tuk.

After travelling a while in Pakistan, this was a good change. The Afghani food was delicious. You are seated on cushions in front of low tables in an Aladdin styled room. There was also life music and the atmosphere was just great. If you visit Peshawar, you should not miss this place.

I did not really go to the cinema, I just searched the different cinemas because of the fantastic billboards, which all show big women and lots of violence.

This is the road from Peshawar to Kabul in Afghanistan, is one of the highlights of this region. This legendary Pass has played an important role on the trading roads from India via Pakistan to Afghanistan and Persia.

You need a permit to access this Pass. When you go for the permit, some heavily armed soldiers of the Frontier Force will also accompany you.

The reason they join you is security. Don't forget this is Tribal Area. In this area there was (and still is) a lot of smuggling (drugs, weapons,...) and these actions aren't without risk and danger.

The Khyber Pass railway goes through 30 tunnels and crosses 92 bridges but nowadays it can be used only for a small part because the rails are gone due to landslides.

In the middle of Ander Sher bazaar you see the entry of the Mahabat Khan's Mosque. In fact this entry is nothing more then a small gate in between the jewellery shops. Mahabat Khan, the governor of Peshawar, built it in 1630 during the reign of Moghal Shah Jahan. The open courtyard has a basin for ceremonial cleaning (in the middle). A guide told us that during the Sikh-period, the minarets were used a lot as gallows.

Open: every day from sunrise till sunset, during the Friday prayers around noon the mosque is closed for tourists.

Tourist trap If you walk from the Mosque towards Chowk Yadgar, on the left side there is an entrance to a Caravan Serai. Inside the caravanserai there is a stair, take the stair to the top floor, and you have a great view over the Mosque. Don't be afraid that you will miss this place because when you pass near the entrance gate, there will always be a guy who will show you the upper floor of the caravanserai with the great mosque view. Of course there is a little but, as a compensation you must visit his little souvenir shop which is locate on the ground floor of the Caravanserai. So be gentle and pay him with a visit, show some interest, anyway you are not obliged to buy something.

Chowk Yadgar is the central square of the Old Peshawar; this is a good place to get orientated again after walking around in the small streets. The monument in the middle of the square remembers the heroes of the war between India and Pakistan (1965) and is the reunion place for the old men.

On the West Side of Chowk Yadgar you can see the moneychangers, you can see them sitting on their small carpets, a big safe behind them and armed with a mini calculator. They can change all kind of money, however it is illegal, so I believe it is better to go to a bank for changing.

This street is called Sethi-street because most of the old houses belong to the family Sethi, one of the oldest merchant families in the city. The old houses are big and have a balcony. The magnificent sculptured wooden doors lead towards the big courtyards and towards the deep cellars - 15 meters under the ground - in order to cool their goods.

At the end of Sethi-street you see the Mogol-caravanserai Gor Khatri. A big Mongol gate leads to a big courtyard (200-m square), on all 4 sides there were rooms for travellers. This place is almost a holy place for more than 2000 years. In the 2nd century after Christ it was a Buddhist Sanctuary and monastery. When Buddhism lost a bit of its popularity it became a Hindu temple, and in the Sikh period a mosque was built here, later on the Sikh's destroyed the Mosque and built a temple for Gokarhnath (19th century).

Peshawar is the capital of the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP). Peshawar is a very exotic city and it has preserved the traditional atmosphere and retained its air of Arabian Nights.

The most exciting part of Peshawar is the old city, Visiting the bazaar, which is as big as a whole quarter, is a true experience. I'm not sure, but there must be hundreds of small shops. It is like a labyrinth of small streets and colourful bazaars, a mosaic of merchants, travellers, Phanthans and Afghans. The shops who offer the same stuff can - in a typical Asian style - all be found together.

The best way to discover Peshawar is a walk through the small streets of the old city.

Qissa Khawani Bazaar
The old city was enclosed with a wall and sixteen gates, the most famous gate was the Kabuli gate but nowadays only the name remains- the gate is gone. It was the gate of the Qissa Khawani Bazaar, the famous Storytellers bazaar, before this was a camping site for caravans and soldiers, where professional storytellers recited ballads and tales of war and love. I passed this street, I did not see any storytellers, and maybe they are gone (same as the gate).

The Khyber bazaar is full of doctors, dentists and lawyers. You just can't miss the dentists as you can see their big billboards where they are advertising with giant dentures. This is also the departure place for the busses to the Khyber Pass and Kohat.