Peshawar, << puh SHAH wuhr or puh SHAW wuhr >> (pop. 1,970,042), is one of the oldest and largest cities in Pakistan. It is the capital of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (formerly North-West Frontier Province). The city lies at the foot of the Khyber Pass, the mountain pass that links Pakistan and Afghanistan. Peshawar is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the border with Afghanistan. Peshawar is a center for agriculture, manufacturing, and trade. Farmers in the area grow corn, fruit, sugar cane, tobacco, and wheat.
The Bala Hisar Fort (High Fort) and the Mahabat Khan Mosque rank among the city’s most famous landmarks. The old city bazaars feature open-air tea houses called chai khanas, as well as shops that sell food as well as crafts including brassware and sandals and other leather goods. The Qissa Khwani Bazaar, or Street of Storytellers, draws customers from across Asia. Peshawar is home to a number of universities and other schools, including Peshawar University and the Khyber Medical College.
Settlements in the Peshawar valley date back more than 2,000 years. Peshawar was the capital of the Kushan Empire, which flourished in what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northern India from about A.D. 50 to the mid-200’s. The city was connected to major cities in India by a trade route called the Grand Trunk Road, and it became a major commercial center. Peshawar expanded during the period of India’s Mughal Empire in the 1500’s and 1600’s. It came under British colonial rule in 1849. In the 1980’s, the city became a political center for millions of Afghan refugees who fled to Pakistan after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
See also Khyber Pass ; Kushan Empire ; Mughal Empire ; Pakistan (History) .
