Keeping alive the centuries-old traditions of storytelling and serving Peshawari Qehwa (green tea), Qissa Khwani being an oldest bazaar of South Asia attracts tourists in droves due to its rich cultural diversity, Mughal era architectural buildings and aroma of food cuisines.
Qissa Khwani’s primitive and archaic culture magnetize tourists’ attention before visiting its food restaurants and Qehwa shops where they swap tales of ancient culture, music and traditional norms by enjoying aroma of mouth watering food cuisines including Chappal Kabab, Mutton Karahi, fried fish, chicken roast, Kabli Pulao, Kulfi-Falooda (dessert) along with famous Qehwa (green tea).
Located in the heart of Peshawar City near historical Chowk Yadgar, Ghanta Ghar and Balahisar fort, the Qissa Khwani Bazaar remained a key trade and cultural center where international merchants of subcontinent, Afghanistan and Central Asia stayed at nights and shared tales of love, culture, art and architecture, music and traditions before their departure to respective destinations. The Bazaar starts from Kabuli Gate that takes only eight to 10 minutes to reach after disembarking from BRT station of Khyber Bazaar and takes tourists to primordial age after witnessing its centuries-old architectural buildings, artisans’ shops, food restaurants and primitive Qehwa Khanas.
During its peak period, the bazaar served as a campground for trade caravans of merchants from Delhi, Amritsar, Lahore, Kabul, Dushanbe, Ashgabat and Tashkent who used to enter the city’s gates to unload their merchandise. The bazaar has witnessed the vigor of great warriors, invaders and kings including Alexander the Great, Mehmood Ghaznvi, Zaheeruddin Babar, Nadir Shah, Ahmed Shah Durrani and his grandson Shah Zaman who marched through famous Khyber Pass during their invasions of India.Qissa Khwani’s history is believed to be as old as the history of Peshawar,” said Noor Khan, Incharge Peshawar Museum while talking to APP.
“The recent archaeology excavation at ancient Gor Khatri had established the city’s historical profile declaring Peshawar as ‘Oldest Living City’ in South Asia with primitive history going back to about 539 BC.” Noor said Gor Khatri excavation was the deepest and biggest in the world which revealed that the 20-layers of soil provide a complete profile of this ancient city ranging from British to pre Indo-Greek era.
Thus, the unique tradition of storytelling and drinking of Qehwa became an integral part of Qissa Khwani culture, which is still continuing despite the passage of centuries. Tourists can also take glimpses of ancestral houses of Bollywood super stars including Yousaf Khan alias Dalip Kumar at Mohallah Khudadad, Haveli of Raj Kapoor’s father Prithvi Raj and residence of Shah Rukh Khan’s family at Shah Wali Qatal.
“Peshawar’s Qissa Khwani and Dilip Kumar sahib are inseparable,” Faud Ishaq, former President Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and nephew of the Peshawar born India’s cinema legend Dilip Kumar told APP. He said Dilip Kumar’s love for Peshawar could be judged from his will in which he wished to use his ancestral house for welfare of Peshawarities.
Dilip Kumar visited Peshawar in 1988 and 1998 where he was welcomed by hundreds of thousands of his fans at Qissa Khawani. “Dilip Sahib wished to see his ancestral house when he came to Peshawar in 1998. So we selected to visit his house between 1:30am to 2:00am (midnight) but could not reach it due to presence of hundreds of thousands of his fans who arrived at Qissa Khwani to see a few glimpses of the hero of Mughal e Azam film,” Faud Ishaq recalled.
The Havali of Raj Kapoor’s father Prithvi Raj, who moved to Mumbai in 1930 where he prevailed over South Asian’s film industry both as an actor and producer, thereby laying the first Bollywood dynasty spanned about four generations, were also attracting visitors at Dhaki Nalbandi near Qissa Khwani.
