At the northern terminus of Shah Rahe-Sher Shah (Grand Trunk Road) proudly stands the city of Peshawar the capital and the largest city of Northwest Frontier Province. Down the ages, Peshawar has occupied every prominent position in history of this part of the world. The city has seen the rise and fall of many dynasties. It has been the center of Ghandhara civilization and had been ruled by the Afghans, Mughals, Durranis, Sikhs and British's as till independence in 1947. The city of Peshawar has its own historic charm.Founded over 2,000 years ago by the Kushan Kings of Gandhara, Peshawar has had almost as many names as rulers. Moghal emperor Akbar, formally gave the city the name Peshawar which means "The Place at the Frontier". Earlier it had been known as the "City of Flowers" and the "City of Grains". Its thousands year old history is full of old traditions and tales which are narrated in the Kahuekhavar of the famous Qissa Khwani Bazar. It has been a rendevous of several invading hordes and conquerors who pushed down the Khyber Pass to try their own. It is the amalgam of carrying races of men that stalk the streets of Peshawar. You can hear some of them still speak the old Persian, their mother tongue. Pushto speaking have flocked from the surrounding villages into the city. They speak in Pushto but the old language still survives in the form of Hindko. It is only through this speech that you enter the real life of the city. The glamour of Peshawar like highly decorated style of buildings with carved wooden doors, partitions, handing balconies, mirrored and painted rooms and a typical style of Sethi houses are fast decaying. The monuments that survived the ravages of the time give a glimpse of its old story. The city of Peshawar until mid-fifties was enclosed with a medieval wall constructed of bricks with 16 gates, namely: Ramdas, Bariskian, Sardchah, Sarki, Kohati, Yakatoot, Gang, Lahori, Hashtnagri, Rampura, Rati, Kachari, Andarsher, Kabuli, Debgari and Bajauri but in recent years a lot of expansion has taken place and new colonies like Gulbahar and Hayatabad have been built out side and walled city. The city walls have been pulled down and most of the gates have disappeared.