Qissa Khwani Bazaar: Peshawar's Storytellers' Street

Qissa Khwani Bazaar, the storytellers' bazaar, is the old main street of Peshawar's walled city, running east from Kabuli Gate for about ten minutes' walk. Caravans from Kabul, Central Asia and India once camped here, and professional storytellers entertained the traders by night. The storytellers have gone, but a qehwa house that has been pouring green tea for well over a century is still open. Allow an hour to walk it, sit over a pot of qehwa, and see the memorial to the 1930 massacre.

This guide covers the bazaar's history, where to drink qehwa, and what to look for on a walk, with practical advice on timing, dress and safety.

Why is it called Qissa Khwani?

The name means the market of the storytellers, in both Pashto and Urdu. Peshawar sits at the foot of the Khyber Pass, and for centuries it was the first city merchants reached on the road down from Kabul. The caravans that came through, from Delhi, Amritsar and Lahore on one side and from Kabul, Tashkent and beyond on the other, stopped in this street, where raw silk, saffron, fruit, indigo, tea and gold and silver thread changed hands.

In the evenings the traders gathered in the tea houses, and professional storytellers, the qissa khwans, recited tales of war and love by lamplight. The British called the bazaar the Piccadilly of Central Asia. The caravan trade faded in the 20th century, and the storytelling tradition went with it, though people in Peshawar will tell you the conversation in the tea houses has never stopped.

The Qissa Khwani massacre of 1930

On 23 April 1930, British Indian Army troops opened fire on unarmed protesters in this street. The crowd had gathered after the arrest of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and other leaders of the Khudai Khidmatgar, the non-violent Pashtun movement against British rule. The shooting went on for hours.

Official British figures were far lower than the roughly 400 dead claimed in local and nationalist accounts, and the true toll has never been settled. Two platoons of the Garhwal Rifles refused orders to go to Peshawar for riot duty, and their NCOs were imprisoned for years. The massacre became a turning point in the independence movement in the province.

A white marble memorial in the bazaar honours those who were killed. It is worth pausing at, and it explains why people in Peshawar speak of Qissa Khwani with a particular pride.

Where to drink qehwa

The tea houses are the reason most people linger in Qissa Khwani. The best known is the Qehwa Khana run by Fazl Rehman, who took it over from his father nearly sixty years ago. Oral tradition puts the shop at 120 to 130 years old, and it is one of the last survivors of the tea houses that once lined the street; a 2015 report found only two of the bazaar's eight old tea stalls still working.

Water is heated in a brass samovar, poured into small pots and boiled again with green tea leaves, sugar and cardamom. In 2025 a pot of about two cups cost roughly PKR 50. Prices change, but it remains one of the cheapest good things in Peshawar.

A few things to know:

• Sit and take your time. The pleasure is in watching the bazaar go by, not in a quick cup.
• Ask for less sugar if you prefer it, since the sugar goes into the pot.
• In Ramadan, qehwa with milk, known locally as sheen da payo, is served with iftar.

For the other things to eat along the way, from chapli kebab to kulfi falooda, see our guide to Peshawar's famous food.

What to see on a walk through Qissa Khwani

The bazaar is short, and it is best walked slowly from west to east.

1. Kabuli Gate. The walled city once had sixteen gates, and Kabuli Gate, facing the road to Kabul, was one of its two main entrances. Most of the gates were demolished during the 20th century; Kabuli Gate is one of the few that have been rebuilt, and it marks the start of the bazaar.
2. The shopfronts. Qissa Khwani is a working market selling spices, fabrics, dried fruit, sweets and falooda, with kebab pans and tikka grills at the roadside. Look up at the upper storeys, where some of the old carved wooden balconies survive.
3. The martyrs' memorial. The white marble monument to those killed in 1930.
4. The Qehwa Khana. Stop for a pot of green tea.
5. Bazaar Misgaran. At the eastern end, a left turn takes you into the coppersmiths' street. It was once full of beaten brass and copper work; stainless steel has taken much of the trade, but a few shops still sell engraved pots, trays and jugs.
6. The Qasim Ali Khan Mosque. In Misgaran stands the mosque whose prayer leaders, the Popalzai family, have long announced the start and end of Ramadan by their own moon sighting, followed by many people in the province. It is still an active mosque.
7. Chowk Yadgar. Misgaran leads on to the old city's central square, where the walk ends.

From Chowk Yadgar you can carry on to the Mahabat Khan Mosque, the clock tower and Sethi House; our old Peshawar walking tour sets out the full route.

The Bollywood connection

The lanes around Qissa Khwani are where some of Bollywood's biggest names had their roots. Dilip Kumar was born in 1922 in Mohallah Khudadad, just off the bazaar, and the Kapoor family's haveli stands nearby in Dhaki Dalgaran. The provincial archaeology directorate took over both houses in 2021 to turn them into museums, and restoration work was reported to have begun in July 2025. By 2026, though, both buildings were still reported at risk of collapse after heavy rain and an earthquake.

If you want to see them, look from the lane and don't go inside. Someone in the bazaar will point you the way; the houses are well known.

Practical tips

• When to go. October to March is the season. In June and July the old city is very hot, and the lanes hold the heat.
• Time of day. Late morning to mid-afternoon, once the shops are open and before the evening crowds. Avoid Friday around midday, when many shops close for Jumma prayers.
• Getting there. The Khyber Bazaar BRT station is about 8 to 10 minutes' walk from Kabuli Gate. A rickshaw from Saddar is easy. Don't try to drive in; parking is almost impossible.
• Dress. The old city is conservative. Cover arms and legs; women will be more comfortable with a dupatta or scarf.
• Photography. Ask before photographing people, especially women, and be discreet near mosques and police posts.

Is Qissa Khwani safe?

It is a crowded, ordinary bazaar where Peshawar does its shopping every day, and most visitors walk it without incident. It has also been hit by militant attacks: a bomb during a protest in 2010, a car bomb in September 2013 that killed more than 40 people, and a suicide attack on a mosque in nearby Kocha Risaldar in March 2022 that killed more than 60.

The security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained tense in September 2026, including a counter-terrorism operation in Peshawar against suspected suicide attackers. Check local news before you go, visit in daylight, and on a first visit consider going with someone who knows the old city. If you are visiting from abroad, the UK currently advises against all travel to Peshawar, and that can affect your travel insurance.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, if you come for what it is: a short, busy, working bazaar with a long memory, rather than a restored heritage street. An hour here, with a pot of qehwa and the massacre memorial, gives more sense of Peshawar's history than most of its monuments.

It will disappoint anyone expecting storytellers, or a quiet, polished old quarter. Combine it with the rest of the old city and a meal in Namak Mandi, and it becomes the heart of a good day. Our list of places to visit in Peshawar helps you fill the rest, and if you want Peshawar added to a longer trip, tell us your plans.

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