Gandahara Resource Center

Online Certificate Course on "Old Persian Cuneiform Script through Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions"
31/01/2023

Workshop / Lecture Series on Old Persian Language with Cuneiform Script Cuneiform is one of the oldest writing systems in the world, it was said to have evolved mainly in Sumerian / Mesopotamian region. The usage of this script goes back to at least 2800 BCE - 2500 BCE. The famous ancient literature “Epic of Gilgamesh” was written in Sumerian. Old Persian Cuneiform is the simplified form of Cuneiform Script. It was primarily used for...

Pakistan is a heaven for Buddhist tourism. Its land and people charm with traces of history, generous hospitality and brotherly warmth
24/01/2020

In conversation with Reverend Dr. Neung Hur a Buddhist Monk on Religious Pilgrimage to Pakistan Many people don’t know that Pakistan as a land of Gandhara is like Mecca – the holy place of Islam – for the Buddhist community. Swat is also the birthplace of Padmasambhava who is universally celebrated as the Second Buddha, reincarnated in the 8th century AD. There are several leading ancient philosophers from Peshawar, Swat and Taxila, who...

Reclaiming Pakistan’s Central Asian Heritage
29/12/2019

Little do we realize that Pakistan's historical cultural geography makes it as much a part of South Asia as it is of Central Asia. Historically linked by trade, politics and religion, Pakistan and Central Asia share a historic legacy, which is based on thousands of years of known interaction between the Central Asian and South Asian civilizations. The cultural imprint of Central Asia on the social fabric of Pakistan is reflected in its...

Defeating Terrorism to Promoting Tourism: Pakistan’s Promise for Cultural Diplomacy
29/12/2019

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts,” wrote famous American writer Mark Twain in his 1869 travel book, The Innocents Abroad. Pakistan was a prominent tourist destination in the days of overland journey connecting Pakistan with its Asian neighbors in the 1960-70s. The “hippie trail” brought thousands of travelers from Western Europe and America to...

Branding Taxila as a Gateway to Religious Tourism
29/12/2019

Today, the town of Taxila is a sprawling urban center with bustling bazars and multi-story plazas. It is a nationally known industrial hub of heavy machines and ordnance factories, as well as a center of small cottage and household industries of stoneware and pottery. The unplanned and unchecked urbanization and industrialization of Taxila Valley, fanning out in the foothills of Margalla hills, poses a direct threat to the historical value...

The Road Less Traveled: The Buddhist Religious Tourism of Pakistan
29/12/2019

Pakistan is comparatively a young country, yet it is a land of ancient civilizations, comparable in antiquity to the Egyptian and Sumerian. Despite being an Islamic republic, Pakistan respects the historic legacy of pre-Islamic civilizations. Buddhism is one of those world religions that have spawned an ancient civilization, whose footprints are spread all over Pakistan. From the hilltops of Kashmir to the valleys of Swat and Peshawar, from the...

Gandhara Heritage Retreat (2 Day Trip)
08/10/2019

Center for Culture and Development in collaboration with Arte-Culture offers 2 day Gandhara Heritage Retreat to enjoy the experience of serene and peaceful swat valley. Meditation, art activity and visits at following sites will be made as part of retreat: Takht-e-Bahi Barikot Shingerdar Stupa Rock Carvings at various locations Swat Museum and Archaeological sites of Butkara I, II and III Date: November 2 & 3, 2019 Departure...

Connecting the Two Capitals: From Taxila to Islamabad
02/10/2019

When Pakistani government chose to shift capital from the bustling port city of Karachi to the north of Rawalpindi, where the Potohar plateau rises to Margalla Hills, little did they realize that they are establishing a direct territorial link to the capital of an ancient civilization, Takshasila, i.e., the hill capital of the Kingdom of Gandhara. Situated at the pivotal junction of trade routes of South Asia and Central Asia in the lush green...