L.I.S.A.: In 2018, you started a conservation and preservation project for two endangered buildings in the historical part of Peshawar – Gor Khatri Western Gate and Sethi House. What is the history of these two buildings, why are they important for the community and why has it become necessary to save them?
Dr. Samad: Gor Khatri is located in the heart of the Old Peshawar walled city. The building has two gates, it has features of different times and rulers, and thus is a symbol of a city that housed different religions and cultures. It is a kind of a historic social complex having features from different times. This is an iconic historic building that has remained a challenge for archaeologists and the relevant government directorate since its preservation and conservation was a huge challenge with the local population living around.
Gor Khatri also has a Mughal era inn or Caravanserai built by Jehan Ara Begum, daughter of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan, dating back to 1642 AD. When the Sikh took control of the city from 1838 to 1842 AD, their governor for Peshawar Paolo Avitabile turned the building into his residence and official headquarter. The British also occupied the complex from 1858 to 1947 and a fire engine displayed at the Gor Khatri speaks of how they used it as a municipal office. The entire compound consists of cells or inns and two huge gates opening to East and West to the city. There is an ancient Mughal era Hindu temple, too.
About 500 meters away, in the Mohalla Sethian, a street named after the rich merchants of Peshawar city, there is a 19th century mansion that was once the house of the merchants of Peshawar, the so called Sethi family. The decorations and woodwork in the old house speak of the rich, cultural influences on the city which was quiet in contrast to the recent history of Peshawar.
These two buildings are symbols of the city and the rich history of its people, right in the middle of the old part of the city where locals still live around it, have businesses and shops. It is very important to save these two buildings and some experts had been trying to save them from man-made or natural disasters. These two buildings needed immediate conservation and preservation as they were endangered to collapse at any time. The Khyber Pukhtunkhwa’s Archaeology Directorate had already done some conservation work at Gor Khatri. However, due to its location being right in the middle of a city bustling with life, its Western Gate needed to be conserved with a scientific and technical approach. In 2018, during a visit, the German ambassador - at the time Martin Kobler -, grasped the idea and offered to help preserve these endangered buildings.