25/01/2024
Peshawar the city of Love ❤️.
Traveller, Ms Ylliana From France 🇫🇷 story.
"When I first left France for Pakistan, everyone freaked out, I was called crazy or brave, and even got interviewed by my local police station upon my visa application. It just shows how here in the west, Pakistan is portrayed as a war zone, terrorist land, and all the evil you can think of. Immediately upon my arrival I understood it was all bull****. I was amazed by everything around me. The food, the people, the landscapes, old and new cities, the villages, the weather, the culture… I loved every single part of my stay. Even the rain feels right. It’s hard to explain really. You can’t wander around Peshawar or more largely KPK without a smile on your face. All you see is love, help, hospitality.
The people here would literally die for a complete stranger. Although I visited Islamabad and SWAT and enjoyed both, Peshawar is where I felt home. Theres something out of time about this city. You walk around and can see a few thousands years old civilization, just thriving. Friends become family. Life here just hits different. It’s slower, sweeter. The fact that there is only a handful of visitors yearly is a disgrace, but it kinda adds to its charm. When the Pashtuns realize you come from abroad, they will do everything to make your stay perfect, it’s almost in their dna. People will smile from ear to ear, invite you into their homes, introduce you to their families… I can’t describe how grateful I am to have been there and meet those people whose existence was completely unknown to me before that. Some will be lifelong friends.
Once you’ve been there you’ll never be the same. The humanity you find there will never leave you. As a woman, I never felt unsafe anywhere, actually it was quite the opposite. Of course for someone who was raised in the west, there’s a few things to get used to, but it’s part of the game and once that was done, I felt more comfortable in Peshawar than anywhere else in the world. For almost a year I lived amongst Pashtuns and to be honest, now I do feel a bit Pashtun too. A part of me certainly is.
Tour Da Pekhawar Promoting Peshawar's Cultures, Heritage, people & Food through guided tours.
