On the other side of the railway is the cantonment, its wide tree-lined streets bordered by gracious administrative buildings and spacious bungalows in large gardens. Clubs, churches, The Mall, schools, Saddar Bazaar and the airport are all part of the British contribution to Peshawar's modernisation. Peshawar University, founded in 1950, and surrounded by University Town, is the newest section of town. It lies to the west on the road to the Khyber Pass.

The fortunes of Peshawar have for centuries been linked to the Khyber Pass. The city stands guard at its eastern end, and was founded about 2,000 years ago when the Kushans pacified the area. In the second century AD, Kanishka, the most famous of the Kushan kings, moved his winter capital to Peshawar from Pushkalavati, 30 kilometres (19 miles) further north. The Kushans moved freely through the Khyber Pass between Peshawar and their summer capital at Kapisa (north of Kabul in Afghanistan) and from these two cities ruled their enormous and prosperous empire for the next 400 years.

Kanishka built the empire's most magnificent Buddhist stupa at Shah-ji-kiDheri in Peshawar (now the site of a brick factory), and the city became one of the most important Buddhist centres of pilgrimage. When the Kushans were defeated by the White Huns in about AD 455, Buddhism declined; the Khyber Pass subsequently became too dangerous a route, and Peshawar died.

Peshawar regained its former importance with the arrival of the Mughals in the 16th century. They planted trees and laid out gardens, thereby turning Peshawar into a `city of flowers' (one of the meanings of its name). None of the Mughals enjoyed much success with the Pathans, although Babur gained an ascendancy of sorts after 20 years, five major expeditions and a marriage of convenience to a girl of the Pathan Yusufzai tribe. Akbar nearly lost a huge army in the Khyber Pass when it was trapped in its own camp and hounded by an Afridi Pathan war party. Akbar's son Jahangir fared no better.it was trapped in its own camp and hounded by an Afridi Pathan war party. Akbar's son Jahangir fared no better.

Getting to Peshawar:

Peshawar is linked by air to a dozen Pakistani towns and cities (including Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad-Rawalpindi), and even to Europe via Dubai. It is the last stop for tourists on the national rail system. Bus and minibus services run between Peshawar and Islamabad (three or four hours), the valleys of Swat, Dir and Chitral to the north and, for the adventurous, the desert towns to the south beyond Kohat.

You should only visit Peshawar in cool weather, it is unpleasantly hot here from May through August.

From Islamabad, Peshawar can be reached by a choice of three roads (see map on page 358). The most direct route is the Grand Trunk Road via Attock and Nowshera (167 kilometres, 104 miles or three hours). The most historically interesting is via Tarbela Dam, Swabi, Mardan and Charsadda (242 kilometres, 150 miles or five hours). Finally, the most attractive drive is through Fatehjang, Kohat and Darra (232 kilometres, 144 miles or five hours). Darra is in tribal territory and foreigners need a permit to stop there, though they are allowed to drive !'rough (see page 413).

When to go:

Peshawar is best from October to March, when days are crisp and nights are cold. Spring is short but intense, with flowers providing a riot of colour in March. The hottest months are May and June, before the monsoon. normally its weather is considered hot.