Peshawar to Saidu Sharif

Wakeup call at 6:45am today!  Set off at 8:15 in the coach.  We again went via the back roads through land that is very agricultural.  The main crops here are tobacco, maize and sugar cane.  The tobacco has already been harvested and we saw many trucks with bales of dried tobacco about 18 inches³ on the back.  The sugar cane was still growing and will be harvested in November/December.

The first stop was Takht-i-Bhai where we saw the ruins of a Gandharan Buddhist monastery dating from 40 AD.  Sadly there was little Gandharan art left, but the Hellenistic influences could be seen on the Pilasters on the Stupas.  the main stupa was said to hold 1/8 of the ashes of the Buddha.

Our next port of call was Sakhakot where we looked at the ‘arms factories’.  These are the same small open fronted shops (approx. 12 ft square) each containing one man and a variety of simple metal working tools.  They were making all types of weapon and ammunition.  A 9 mm semi-automatic handgun would have cost ~£25 whilst a Kalashnikov would cost ~£50.  However I assume those prices could have been brought lower with some negotiation.

We went over the Malakand Pass which was spectacular and stopped for lunch near Barikot next to the Swat River.  there were wonderful views over the river and up to the mountains.

The Swat Valley is very very fertile, there are very many crops (maize, rice, sugar) and orchards.  We stopped to see another Stupa after lunch where people seemed to be living an Arcadian existence. Appropriately enough the Stupa was called Shangri-La!

An arms factory in Sakhakot

The hotel in Saidu Sharif was the old Wadi’s palace.  We were told that the rooms would be basic, but it is a lovely place.  A white building with a verandah running along 2 sides enclosing a lawn where there are wicker tables and chair where we take tea.

The rooms were in an annex but constructed in a sympathetic style next to the oldest part.  That night we had a BBQ (again) on the lawn.

Tiffin on the lawn at Saidu Sharif