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BALAHISAR FORT - Peshawer

Bala Hisar Fort is one of the most historic places of Peshawar. The word Bala Hisar is from Persian, meaning, “elevated or high fort”. According to Dr. Hussain Khan, the name was given by the Afghan King Taimur Shah Durrani (1773-1793). The Sikhs who conquered Peshawar in the early 19th century named it Samir Garh in 1834 but the name did not become popular.

The Fort has been the headquarters of the Frontier Corps since 1949.



EXTERNAL VIEW

Design

The fort stands on a high mound in the northwestern corner of Peshawar City. Not long ago, the fort used to be conspicuously away from the old city of Peshawar, but now the construction of new buildings has covered space between the old city and the fort. However, the fort's position on a high mound gives a commanding and panoramic view of Peshawar and the entire Peshawar valley. On a clear day, one can see the mountains encircling Peshawar valley and beyond. The area covered by the inner wall of the fort is about 10 acres (40,000 m²) and the outer wall is about 15 acres (61,000 m²). The height of the fort is about 90 feet (27 m) above ground level.

EXTERNAL VIEW

History

Renowned historian, Dr A.H. Dani in his book "Peshawar-Historic City of Frontier" writes that when Hiuen Tsang, a Chinese traveller, visited Peshawar in 630 AD, he spoke of a "royal residence".

He says that Chinese word "Kung Shing" used for its significance and is explained as fortified or walled portion of the town in which the royal palace stood.

Hiuen Tsang then makes a separate mention of the city, which was not fortified. This shows that the royal residence formed the nucleus of a Citadel, which must have been further protected by a moat.

Dr Dani further says that a channel of old Bara River surrounded by a high spot, which includes the Balahisar and Inder Shahr. The higher area could have been the citadel, which is the present Balahisar.

Peshawar has always been a strategic city and its capturing and ruling over it was of great importance for the invaders and kings.

EXTERNAL VIEW




VIEW OF PESHAWER CITY FROM THE FORT.

"In the 11th century AD, the Hindu ruler, Raja Jaipal of the Hindushahi dynasty was defeated in the vicinity of Peshawar and Mehmud Ghaznavi garrisoned the fort with his army," says Dr Taj Ali. The British officers who visited Peshawar in 19th century mentioned that the fort used to be a royal residence of Afghan rulers, he added.

The Balahisar has seen its construction and destruction by conquerors, warriors, invaders and kings on several occasions. After the overthrow of emperor Humayun by the Afghan King Sher Shah Suri, the Afghans destroyed the fort.

When Hamyun was staying in it he decided to rebuild it before proceeding to Kabul. He wanted to use the fort for his conquest of India at a later stage. As his officers did not want to stay back, Hamayun himself supervised the rebuilding of the fort, which was soon completed.

"The Afghan rulers named it "Balahisar" a Persian name meaning high fort while the Sikhs renamed and rebuilt it calling their fort "Sumergarh" in 1834 but the name did not become popular, says Dr Taj.

The fort was constructed on a mound with commanding view of the surrounding area including Shalimar gardens presently known as Jinnah Park towards its north. This gave more prominence and grandeur to the fort, he said.

FC (Frontier Core) Soldier on Fort



SIDE VIEW

Sumergarh

In the early nineteenth century, Peshawar was the summer capital of the Kingdom of Kabul and the Balahisar the residence of Afghan kings. The Sikhs fought and defeated the Kabul Barakzais in the Battle of Naushehra in early 1823. On conclusion of this battle, fought on the right bank river Indus, the Sikhs chased the retreating Afghans past Peshawar through the Khyber Pass. The Sikhs followed this by the destruction of the Balahisar fort. In December 1823, the British spy, Moorcroft, found the fort "a heap of rubbish, and the only use made of it by the rulers of Peshawar was as a quarry from whence to procure materials for dwellings of their own erection".

Archival records show that soon after the occupation of Peshawar by the Sikhs in 1834, Hari Singh Nalwa commenced the reconstruction of the fort. The Sikhs called their fort 'Sumair Ghar' (after 'Sumer' another name for Mount Kailash). The first Guru of the Sikhs, Baba Nanak, had visited Mount Sumer in the course of his travels. Hari Singh Nalwa installed a plaque over the gate of the fort that read:

External Walls View



Old Cannon on Fort

"This Sumair Garh was built in the city of Peshawar by the exalted Maharaja Ranjit Singh Bahadur in Raja Bikramjit Sambat 1891 with the blessing of Almighty God"

Ranjit Singh was greatly pleased when he visited the newly constructed fort for the first time on 16 May 1835.

The British reconstructed the outer walls of the Balahisar after the annexation of the Kingdom of the Sikhs in 1849. This Sikh fort continues to dominate the city of Peshawar in the twenty-first century.

Cannon on Fort








Frontier Corps (FC) Badge



Inside Fort



Inside Fort



Inside Fort



Inside Fort

Peshawer My City

Peshāwar is the capital of the North-West Frontier Province and the administrative centre for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan."Peshawar" literally means "The Place at the Frontier" in Persian and is known as Pekhawar in Pashto or Pukhto and Pishor in native Hindko language. The area of the city has been ruled by numerous empires including the Afghan, Persian, Shahi, Greek, Maurya, Scythian, Arab, Turk, Mongol, Mughal, Sikh and the British.

In ancient times, a major settlement called Purushpur was established by Kanishka, the king of the Central Asian Kushans, in the general area of modern Peshawar. Purushpur emerged as a major center of Buddhist learning until the 10th century, and was the capital of the ancient Indo-Greek kingdom of Gandhara. During that time, the Kanishka stupa on the outskirts of Peshawar, was the tallest building in the world - rising to almost 700 feet.

The current city was established during the Mughal period in the 16th century by Akbar during which it received the name Peshawar. During much of its history, the city was one of the main trading centers on the ancient Silk Road and was a major crossroads for various cultures between South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.

Located on the edge of the Khyber Pass near the Afghan border, Peshawar is the commercial, economic, political and cultural capital of the Pashtuns in Pakistan. It is as a geographical and cultural frontline between extremist, moderate, and liberal Islam.

Here are images of few Famous places of Peshawar. There are so many famous places that i was not able to decide which one i should put and which one i should left. But at last i put few of them here but i will soon come up with a detailed posts on Peshawar.

EDUCATION INSTITUTES

With the level of higher education on the rise, there has been a surge of prestigious educational institutions in Peshawar.

Abasyn University
Khyber Medical University
Institute of Management Sciences
Agriculture University of Peshawar
University of Engineering & Technology (U.E.T.)
National University of Computer and
Emerging Sciences (FAST-NU), (Peshawar Campus)
Islamia College Peshawar (1913)

ISLAMIA COLLEGE PESHAWER

Gandhara University
Iqra University
Institute of Management Studies
ICMS
Oxfords College University Town Peshawar
City University Of Science & Technology
Institute of Business & Management Sciences
CECOS
Gandhara Medical College
Sarhad University
Peshawar Medical College
University of Peshawar
Preston University
Greenwich University
Government Frontier College Peshawar
Jinnah College for Women
Edwardes College Peshawar
Government College Peshawar
Superior Science College Wazirbagh Peshawar.
Fazaiya Degree College (PAF Degree College)



PESHAWAR MUSEUM





FAMOUS FOOD PLACES IN PESHAWER

Masooms Cafe
Cafe De'Viento
Cafe De'Milan
Namak Mandi
Charsi Tikka Shop
Potato Plus
SS Club
Chief Pizzas and Burgers
KFC
Pizza Hut
Four Seasons
Shiraz Restaurants
Subway


NAMAK MANDI (famous for tasty bar-b-q and Non veg Dishes)





CHIEF (Fast Food Point)






Peshawar has a old and unique way of preparing Tea and specially Green Tea. Which can be seen in Many of the small coffee shops and Tea stalls in Peshawer





Peshawar Bread is quite popular all over Pakistan


PARKS



PAF Park





Army Stadium Amusement Park









SHOPPING MALLS

Islamia College Peshawer

I have done my FSc and Graduation from Islamia College Peshawer
so prepared this mail in remembering the golden days of my life in
ISLAMIA COLLEGE PESHAWER

_________________________________________________________________


Islamia College Peshawar was established in 1913 as a unique institution to educate the people of the province. These were the times when modern education used to be considered a great sin by the clergy; however, the founders of this unique institution were also unique and were so sincere with the people of this land that they laid down the foundation stone of this College at the hands of Haji Sahib of Turangzai who was leading the holy war (Jihad) against the British rulers. Even the British, being sympathetic with this institution or the people of the region didn’t block the way of Haji Sahib because they knew that without Haji Sahib’s involvement this institution will be a complete failure.

Front View of Islamia College

Well done, Islamia College Peshawar! You produced great graduates and stood unique for the last 95 years at undergraduate level but unfortunately when I look at you today, I cannot compare you with Government College Lahore of nearly the same age. Government College Lahore was not fortunate enough to have the blessing of Haji Sahib of Turangzai, nor Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Khan was there to water its plants, no generous Pakhtuns gave it hundreds of acres of their lands and probably no Muhammad Ali Jinnah gave his one third of property to GC Lahore but still this great college produced Nobel Laureate like Abdus Salam. Yes, Government College Lahore you are unique but unfortunately Islamia College Peshawar could not be unique. It is at the same level as it was 95 years but education needs of the day have changed too much. Yesterday, we needed education but today we need research and that as well compatible with our modern-day needs. Let me shed some light on the reasons why Islamia College Peshawar could not be made unique instead of its enormous financial resources and blessings:

ISLAMIA COLLEGE MOSQUE inside View




Front View of Islamia College



Night View of Islamia College Peshawer




Inside View of Islamia College




Outside view of Islamia College Mosque



Front View of Islamia College



Inside Garden of Islamia College Peshawer



Outside View of Islamia College