Sawal Dher

Sawal Dher (Urdu: ساولڈھیر‎) is an historic village in Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan, that contains the remains of an ancient city. The village is located 10 kilometers southwest of Katlang-Jamal Ghari, most of the relics of this site are now in Museum. This site is situated at a distance of 4 kilometers in the southwest of Jamal Garhi. Most of the sculptures of this monastery are preserved in Peshawar and Lahore Museums. It is 19 km away from the district capital Mardan.

The following Pakhtun tribes live in Sawal Dher: Khattak, daavi, Yousafzai, Awankhel, Roghanis, Babar Khail and Gujar or katan khail,. It has an ancient history. Most of the sculptures of this monastery are preserved in Peshawar and Lahore museum. A grand mosque and Hujra were constructed by forefathers of the village long before on a high plat of land. It is a very spacious Grand Masque named as(Masjid-e-Bala/ Bara jummat) and a traditional gathering place(Hujra)named as Bara Hujra. It is said that this place is 5,000 years old and relating to the Buddha era. Moreover, it is believed and reported that this Grand Mosque of the village was constructed on the ruins of a Buddhist Stupa. Sawal Dher was built and developed by Khattak family, they came from various parts of Pakhtun Land and settled here. After some time people of nearby Katlang, a big town in area, try to kick out the people of Sawal Dher, but the brave khattak become united against those invaders and ousted them. Later on, the people of village Sawal Dher also win a lawsuit in British Raj Courts against the establishment of the village. Settlement of the irrigated land was done during the British Raj. People in the village live on the principles of harmony, equality and brotherhood. Sawal Dher has a unique status in Pakhtun Land Few families have higher amount of land than average, include wazir dad and known as barbarian. In 1840 he fought against British raj.

A small and low-level woodcutting industry exist the village and Wazir dad and Haji Zamir gull are the well known person regarding to the wood cutting business. The population of Sawaldher, according to the 1998 census, is about 40,000. Main occupations are farming, business and employment. Moreover, the linked villages(also part sawal dher) Guli Bagh and Musa Khatt are situated 3 kilometres north east and are famous for their gardening and plantation sales outlets.

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