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Peshawar: On the heritage trail
There is so much to see — and eat — in Peshawar's old city.
My earliest reminiscences of Peshawar are a double-storey house in University Town, red double-decker buses, listening to Amitabh's Kabhi Kabhi in the backseat of a white Corona and my kindergarten.
I always longed to go back and one spring morning, I found myself standing at Gorkhatri in the middle of the city.
I first read about this archaeological site while working on an article on General Paolo Crescenzo Martino Avitabile, an Italian general who, after the Battle of Waterloo, came to India to join Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army.
Avitabile would first be made governor of Wazirabad and then the governor of Peshawar from 1838 to 1842. He made Gor Khatri his residence and came to be known locally as Abu Tabela.
Gorkhatri excavation site dating from 200 BCE.—All photos by the author
The Hindu temple in Gorkhatri.
Abu Tabela ruled ruthlessly and would hang delinquents upside-down from the minarets of the Mahabat Khan Mosque. Mothers would warn children that Abu Tabela would come if they didn't behave.
Today, Gorkhatri is managed by the archaeology department and excavations are ongoing to find out more about its history. Until now, archaeologists have been able to find 13 layers from different civilisations, from the colonial era all the way to the Indo-Greek period 200 BCE.
Some enterprising soul had turned the site into a wedding pavilion, before better sense prevailed and the government established a museum full of excavated artifacts in one of the buildings.
The government has also let artisans set up handicraft, shawl and Peshawari chappal shops in the small rooms on the perimeter that used to be part of a caravanserai constructed by the Mughals in the 16th century.
There is an old temple under a huge banyan tree in the middle of the complex, still immaculately maintained and looked after by the Hindu community of Peshawar.
Perhaps the first fire truck in Peshawar.
You cannot miss the British relics in the shape of a lovely Merryweather firetruck parked inside a 1912 municipal committee garage located at Gorkhatri.
As you walk out from the site's western gate, you enter Bazaar Kalan, one of the oldest parts of Peshawar. The government has converted this one-kilometre patch into a heritage trail, renovating old buildings and fixing electricity and drainage systems.
I had heard of the Sethi Haveli for a long time and my guide took me to Sethi mohalla, just next to the bazaar.
We entered narrow but clean alleys, where there are apparently six or seven smaller residences of the Sethi family apart from the jewel in the crown — the 1884 haveli built by Karim Baksh Sethi.
The main haveli does not have a grand entrance — and can be rather disappointing — but once you enter, you find yourself in a central courtyard with a centuries-old fountain in the middle and the colourful windows of bedrooms and lounges opening into the yard from all sides.
Walking in Sethi mohalla.
The courtyard of Sethi Haveli.
Inside Sethi Haveli.
The Sethis were traders who migrated to Peshawar from Bhera during Sikh rule. Soon, they were masters of trade routes from central Asia to sub-continent and their opulence reflects in the grandeur of this haveli.
The woodwork, frescoes and calligraphy on the walls and roof is exquisite and influenced by the work of artisans from all over the region. The haveli had its own well next to the kitchen at each floor and a huge vault in the basement. The haveli was fortunately acquired by the government a few years back and is well-maintained.
***
Next, we crossed the 1900-built Cunningham Clock Tower, named after Sir George Cunningham, former colonial governor and political agent, and commissioned to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
The clock tower has historically been surrounded by fish sellers, who are currently facing efforts to relocate them elsewhere.
Cunnigham Clock Tower.
As we came out of Bazaar Kalan, we were opposite Masjid Mahabat Khan, located in the jewellers' market. However, it was time to cross Chowk Yadgar to enter Qissa Khwani bazaar to the south.
Our enthusiastic guide took us through narrow alleys first to legendary Indian actor Dilip Kumar’s school and then to his former residence in Khudadad mohalla.
The school is still operational, but his former home is crumbling. Official efforts to to acquire the building and convert it into a museum have failed in the past.
The 1890 Anjuman Himayat-i-Islam school, formerly attended by Dilip Kumar.
Dilip Kumar's former home in a crumbling.
There is so much to see — and eat — in Peshawar's old city.
My earliest reminiscences of Peshawar are a double-storey house in University Town, red double-decker buses, listening to Amitabh's Kabhi Kabhi in the backseat of a white Corona and my kindergarten.
I always longed to go back and one spring morning, I found myself standing at Gorkhatri in the middle of the city.
I first read about this archaeological site while working on an article on General Paolo Crescenzo Martino Avitabile, an Italian general who, after the Battle of Waterloo, came to India to join Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army.
Avitabile would first be made governor of Wazirabad and then the governor of Peshawar from 1838 to 1842. He made Gor Khatri his residence and came to be known locally as Abu Tabela.
Gorkhatri excavation site dating from 200 BCE.—All photos by the author
The Hindu temple in Gorkhatri.
Abu Tabela ruled ruthlessly and would hang delinquents upside-down from the minarets of the Mahabat Khan Mosque. Mothers would warn children that Abu Tabela would come if they didn't behave.
Today, Gorkhatri is managed by the archaeology department and excavations are ongoing to find out more about its history. Until now, archaeologists have been able to find 13 layers from different civilisations, from the colonial era all the way to the Indo-Greek period 200 BCE.
Some enterprising soul had turned the site into a wedding pavilion, before better sense prevailed and the government established a museum full of excavated artifacts in one of the buildings.
The government has also let artisans set up handicraft, shawl and Peshawari chappal shops in the small rooms on the perimeter that used to be part of a caravanserai constructed by the Mughals in the 16th century.
There is an old temple under a huge banyan tree in the middle of the complex, still immaculately maintained and looked after by the Hindu community of Peshawar.
Perhaps the first fire truck in Peshawar.
You cannot miss the British relics in the shape of a lovely Merryweather firetruck parked inside a 1912 municipal committee garage located at Gorkhatri.
As you walk out from the site's western gate, you enter Bazaar Kalan, one of the oldest parts of Peshawar. The government has converted this one-kilometre patch into a heritage trail, renovating old buildings and fixing electricity and drainage systems.
I had heard of the Sethi Haveli for a long time and my guide took me to Sethi mohalla, just next to the bazaar.
We entered narrow but clean alleys, where there are apparently six or seven smaller residences of the Sethi family apart from the jewel in the crown — the 1884 haveli built by Karim Baksh Sethi.
The main haveli does not have a grand entrance — and can be rather disappointing — but once you enter, you find yourself in a central courtyard with a centuries-old fountain in the middle and the colourful windows of bedrooms and lounges opening into the yard from all sides.
Walking in Sethi mohalla.
The courtyard of Sethi Haveli.
Inside Sethi Haveli.
The Sethis were traders who migrated to Peshawar from Bhera during Sikh rule. Soon, they were masters of trade routes from central Asia to sub-continent and their opulence reflects in the grandeur of this haveli.
The woodwork, frescoes and calligraphy on the walls and roof is exquisite and influenced by the work of artisans from all over the region. The haveli had its own well next to the kitchen at each floor and a huge vault in the basement. The haveli was fortunately acquired by the government a few years back and is well-maintained.
***
Next, we crossed the 1900-built Cunningham Clock Tower, named after Sir George Cunningham, former colonial governor and political agent, and commissioned to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
The clock tower has historically been surrounded by fish sellers, who are currently facing efforts to relocate them elsewhere.
Cunnigham Clock Tower.
As we came out of Bazaar Kalan, we were opposite Masjid Mahabat Khan, located in the jewellers' market. However, it was time to cross Chowk Yadgar to enter Qissa Khwani bazaar to the south.
Our enthusiastic guide took us through narrow alleys first to legendary Indian actor Dilip Kumar’s school and then to his former residence in Khudadad mohalla.
The school is still operational, but his former home is crumbling. Official efforts to to acquire the building and convert it into a museum have failed in the past.
The 1890 Anjuman Himayat-i-Islam school, formerly attended by Dilip Kumar.
Dilip Kumar's former home in a crumbling.
