Why it looks like this

Peshawar is one of South Asia's oldest living cities: as Purushapura it was the capital of the Kushan empire nearly two thousand years ago, home to one of the ancient world's tallest stupas. Its position at the eastern mouth of the Khyber Pass made it the perpetual first stop between Central Asia and the subcontinent.

The walled city that survives is a caravan city: the Qissa Khwani bazaar where travellers traded news and tales, gated mohallas, havelis of Hindko and Pashtun merchant families — sixteen gates once controlled entry. The British cantonment spread west outside the walls, and the modern city has grown far beyond both.