The Khyber Pass-Pakistan
(pakistantravelerspk)The Khyber Pass is a mountain pass in the northwest of Pakistan, on the border with Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversing part of the Spin Ghar mountains.
An integral part of the ancient Silk Road, it has long had substantial cultural, economic, and geopolitical significance for Eurasian trade. Throughout history, it has been an important trade route
between Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent and a vital strategic military choke point for.....
various states that came to control it. The summit of the pass is 5 km (3.1 mi) inside Pakistan at Landi Kotal, while the lowest point is at Jamrud in the Valley of Peshawar. The Khyber Pass is part of Asian Highway 1 (AH1).In a number of editions of the Indo-Aryan Migration Theory, the Indo-Aryans began relocating to India through the Khyber Pass. Well-known invasions of the area have been predominantly through the Khyber Pass, such as the invasions by Cyrus, Darius I, Genghis Khan and later Mongol ssuch as Duwa,Qutlugh Khwaja and Kebek.
Prior to the Kushan era, the Khyber Pass was not a widely used trade route.
The Khyber Pass became a critical part of the Silk Road, which connected Shanghai in the East to Cádiz on the coast of Spain. The Parthian Empire fought for control of passes such as this to gain access to the silk, jade, rhubarb, and other luxuries moving from China to Western Asia and Europe. Through the Khyber Pass, Gandhara (in present-day Pakistan) became a regional center of trade connecting Bagram in Afghanistan to Taxila in Pakistan, adding Indian luxury goods such as ivory, pepper, and textiles to the Silk Road commerce.
Among the Muslim invasions of the Indian subcontinent, the famous invaders coming through the Khyber Pass are Mahmud Ghaznavi, and the Afghan Muhammad Ghori and the Turkic-Mongols.
Finally, Sikhs under Ranjit Singh captured the Khyber Pass in 1834 until they were defeated by the forces of Wazir Akbar Khan in 1837. Hari Singh Nalwa, who manned the Khyber Pass for years, became a household name in Afghanistan.
To the north of the Khyber Pass lies the country of the Mullagori tribe. To the south is Afridi Tirah, while the inhabitants of villages in the Pass itself are Afridi clansmen. Throughout the centuries the Pashtun clans, particularly the Afridis and the Afghan Shinwaris, have regarded the Pass as their own preserve and have levied a toll on travellers for safe conduct. Since this has long been their main source of income, resistance to challenges to the Shinwaris' authority has often been fierce.
For strategic reasons, after the First World War the British built a heavily engineered railway through the Pass. The Khyber Pass Railway from Jamrud, near Peshawar, to the Afghan border near Landi Kotal was opened in 1925.
During World War II concrete "dragon's teeth" (tank obstacles) were erected on the valley floor due to British fears of a German tank invasion of British India.
The Pass became widely known to thousands of Westerners and Japanese who traveled it in the days of the hippie trail, taking a bus or car from Kabul to the Afghan border. At the Pakistani frontier post, travelers were advised not to wander away from the road, as the location was a barely controlled Federally Administered Tribal Area. Then, after customs formalities, a quick daylight drive through the Pass was made. Monuments left by British Army units, as well as hillside forts, could be viewed from the highway.
The area of the Khyber Pass has been connected with a counterfeit arms industry, making various types of weapons known to gun collectors as Khyber Pass copies, using local steel and blacksmiths' forges. A number of locations around the world have been named after the Khyber Pass:
1. Khyber Road in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland.
2. A suburb of Civil Lines, Delhi, India.
3. Khyber Pass Road, a major road in the suburb of Newmarket, Auckland, New Zealand.
4. An artificial rockwork feature at East Park, Kingston upon Hull, UK.
5. A steep and twisting road up the West Cliff at Whitby, UK.
6. A pedestrian alley in Stromness, Orkney, Scotland
7. Khyber Pass Pub in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
8. Khyber Himalayan Resort and Spa in Gulmarg Jammu and Kashmir.
9. A mountain bike trail connecting the Top of the World trail at Whistler Resort to the Whistler Creekside Village.
10. A subway in the King's Cross St Pancras tube station. After the King's Cross fire in November 1987, it was replaced.
'Khyber Pass' is Cockney rhyming slang meaning 'arse'. This use is alluded to in the 1968 film Carry On Up the Khyber. Polski Translate.
The Vampire Weekend song "M79" references the Khyber Pass.
The Tom Cochrane song "Life Is a Highway" (covered by Rascal Flatts and others) references the Khyber Pass.
The album Rio Grande Blood by Ministry (2006) has a song called "Khyber Pass" which references it as a possible hiding place for then missing and at large Osama bin Laden. This song was also featured at the end of the film The Hurt Locker.
The song "Red War" by Probot, featuring Max Cavalera on vocals, mentions the pass.
British rock band Pink Floyd references the Khyber in their song "Up the Khyber", featured on the soundtrack to the film More
Parts of the 1985 Jay McInerney book Ransom take place in or near the Khyber Pass.