Peshawar: The oldest living city of South Asia

APP

PESHAWAR: Peshawar, known as the oldest living city in South Asia with a documented history of 2,500 years old, carries a unique distinction of being a custodian of eight to 10 ancient civilizations including Gandhara, making it a center of attraction for foreign and domestic tourists due to its unique archaeological sites and glorious history. Famous for ancient Balahisar Fort and Qissa Khwani Bazaar, Peshawar was officially declared by the Archaeology Department as the “Oldest Living City” in South Asia with its history going back to 539 BC.

Director Archaeology and Museums Dr Abdul Samad Khan told a state-run news agency that recent Gor Kathri’s scientific excavation has disclosed that Peshawar was the oldest living city in South Asia inhabited by diversified cultures, languages and architectures. He said Gor Khatri’s excavation has revealed architectural designs, diets and languages which indicate the existence of eight to ten ancient civilizations in Peshawar.

The excavation at Gor Khatri, which continued for several years and published in the British Journal “Current World Archaeology”, titled `The deepest and biggest excavation in the world has added to the profile of the Peshawar city ranging from British down to pre-Indo-Greek era.

The excavation discovered that Peshawar was a province of Persian Alchamenian Empire in four to six century BC and later came under the influence of Mauryans, Greeks, Scythians, Kushans, Sasanians, White Huns, Ghaznavis, Slave Dynasty, Ghoris, Suri Afghans, Mughals, Durrani, Sikhs and the British before the creation of Pakistan. Conquered by Greeks and ruled by Buddhists, Peshawar had witnessed rebuilding by Brahmins, invaded by Ghaznavis, captured by Mughals, overrun by Sikhs and annexed by the British in succession.

Despite witnessing the onslaught of worriers, kings and invaders that marched from Afghanistan, and Central Asian Republics to the Subcontinent through the historic Khyber Pass, Dr Samad said that Peshawar remained intact, becoming a center of attraction for tourists and traders throughout its evolution.

“Qissa Khwani Bazaar was a center of attraction for international traders and merchants, who often stayed here to enjoy its famous Chappli Kabab and another delicious cuisine with traditional Qehwa, exchanging stories about each other’s culture, food, art, and music before departing for Central Asian Republics (CARs) and Subcontinent for trade.”

During their stay at Qissa Khwani, he said the international traders had a unique opportunity to explore almost all the historical sites and buildings of Peshawar like Sethi House, Balahisar Fort, Ghanta Ghar, Chowk-e-Yadgar, Mohabat Khan Mosque and Peshawar Museum.

Terming Peshawar Museum as one the world’s largest museums of Gandhara art, Dr Abdul Samad said that the conservation of its British era’s building was almost completed with an estimated cost of Rs 20 million which would soon be opened to the general public.

“The museum currently houses 40,000 rare antiquities and artifacts beside the complete life story of Lord Buddha, attracting Buddhists and monks from across the world.”

He said conservation work of the historical building of Mohabat Khan Mosque has been completed and efforts are underway to renovate it to its original shape. 40 percent of work on its ceiling and minarets besides adjoining portions have been completed.

The archaeology guru said that Rs 87 million were approved for conservation of Mohabat Khan Mosque and the KP Chief Minister had already passed directives to allocate more funds for the completion of the mega project.

Dr Abdul Samad said that 42 encroaching shops and adjacent plaza have affected the building of the historical mosque and the negotiations were underway to convince the traders and shopkeepers to remove these shops.

Bakhat Muhammad, Assistant Director of Research, Directorate of Archaeology and Museums said that around 3,000 historical sites exist in Peshawar, Charssadda, Swabi, Nowshera and Mardan districts including 1,840 ancient buildings in Peshawar.

Besides Gor Khatri, he said Dalazak Tomb, Kotla Mohsin Khan, Sakhi Mahuddin tombs, Chacha Younas,  and monuments are declared protected as sites while Sakhi Shah Mardan Villa, Bejo tomb, Qissa Khwani, Lady Reading Hospital and others as non-protected.

He said British-era Sethi House Peshawar, a historical building of the British era carrying a unique architectural value and eye-catching wood craftsmanship, was purchased by the KP Government and was converted into a full-fledged museum.

Bakhat Mohammed added that inspired by  Muslims and the vernacular architecture of Bukhara Uzbekistan, the Sethi family associated with international trade had constructed the masterpiece in 1886 after migrating from Punjab to Peshawar in the early 19th century at Mohalla Sethian where about seven Havelis were built in almost the same style, signifying their aestheticism.

”I have heard a lot about the wood craftsmanship of Sethi House and found it correct today after visiting the architectural wood wonder of Peshawar,” said Engr Khushal Khan, a resident of Dir Lower while talking to the news agency.

“The impressive building with eye-catching wood designs, red and green window glasses and ventilator structure of Sethi House has impressed me the most.”

Dr Abdul Samad said that the focus is on the completion of 12 ongoing projects including conservation of Mohabat Khan Mosque, development of key archaeological sites at Swat, Takht Bhai and preservation of Kalash culture in Chitral, curbing illegal excavations and smuggling of antiquities and preservation of colonial-era archaeological sites.

He said that 800 new archaeological sites were discovered in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Regarding new projects in budget 2022-23, he said that Rs 100 million were allocated for a new project for the documentation of archaeological sites in merged tribal districts’ and practical work on it would start during the next fiscal year.