Waiting for the Khyber Pass to open up so we could make the journey into Afghanistan, we killed time by exploring the Pakistani countryside. One day on our way back into Peshawar, we came across this rather unique bridge built during the time of the Mughal Empire:
Along the edge of the river was this camp of gypsies:
The gypsies (pictured below) were fascinated by our presence and came out to examine us more closely. One of the children grew bored with us, however, and while poking around the bridge uncovered a nest of poisonous snakes, which soon began slithering across the bridge in an effort to find a new refuge. Unfortunately, the only way back to the car was through the snakes on the Mughal bridge. So, it took a fair amount of dancing around to get back inside our vehicle.
The increased risk of a venomous bite or a twisted ankle imbues dancing with the heady cologne of menace. I’d recommend it to anyone…
The Velvet Rocket 
Poisonous snakes?!? Oh my goodness! J, with you, I can never take a rest… always in trouble! :P
THE MUGHAL BRIDGE IS OF SHAH JAHAN’S PERIOD AND ALL DETAILS ABOUT IT ARE KNOWN. THERE WAS AN INSCRIPTION ON IT WHICH WAS DEPOSITED BY A LOCAL MAULVI OF A MOSQUE TO AN ENGLISH CURATOR OF THE PESHAWER MUSEUM ABOUT 100 YEARS AGO. THE INSCRIPTION IS STILL THERE. I WILL GIVE DETAILS SOON. IT WAS DESIGNED BY LUTUF ULLAH AHMAD MUHANDIS SON OF USTAD AHMAD MIMAR LAHORI (the architect of the Taj Mahal Agra). Details soon, ARIF RAHMAN CHUGHTAI, LAHORE.
Thank you very much for sharing these details. We look forward to the additional information you mentioned…
The Mughal bridge was made under the Governorship of Nawab Lashkar Khan in 1039 AH (1629 AD), and the founder was a royal courtier by name of Abdul Latif, and it was constructed under the management of namely Daud son of Abu Muhammed Qureshi, by the architect Lutufullah Ahmad Muhandis son of Ustad Ahmad Mimar Lahori. The inscription was in a mosque in Qissa Khawani Bazaar Peshawer and placed by a Mulla there. He revealed that his father had found it on the side of a broken foundation of a bridge on river Bara and he put it in the mosque. The Archaeological Survey of India removed it from the mosque in 1908 and placed it as an object in the Peshawer Museum.
An interesting history and all this information should be placed on the bridge itself again. But really who cares?
I do care and I try my best to contribute to our culture. Read more about culture at blog.chughtaimuseum.com. Thanks