Peshawar is the capital of both federally Administered Tribal Areas and North West Frontier Province. It is located at the opening of the strategically main Khyber Pass and from the sea it is at an altitude of 347 m. In Persian language Peshawar stands for “City of the Frontier”. In Pashto it is recognized as Pakhawar.
Earlier the city was identified as purushpura in the Sanskrit language. But when the rulers of Kushan initiated it, this area was recognized as Gandhar. Peshawar was considered one of the most significant trading centers on Silk route. Under the King Kushan1 Peshawar developed into the eastern capital of the realm of Gandhara. During the era of Kanishka1, Peshawar actually grew to be center of the Buddhist studies as well as learning, in fact maximum people in this area followed Buddhism. In the year 1849 till 1947 British occupied Peshawar after defeating the Sikhs. They actually started ruling this place after winning. At the end of middle 50s, Peshawar was bounded by a wall and there were more than 16 gates. The popular gate among all was the Kabuli gate.
However at present most of the people here are Muslims or the Pashtuns. Maximum part of the population is Pashtun and you will find very less Peshawaris. Moreover Hazaras, Uzkebs, Persians, tajkis and gypies as well, shape the colorful as well as cultural surroundings that presently known as Peshawar. The city display different heritage as well as culture on the same ground and that’s what makes this place very special.
