Mardan History, Location & Population

 District Mardan

Mardan is the most famous and richest district of K-P-K province. It is famous for the hospitality of its public. Hence, this city is known as the "City of Men". It is considered among the oldest inhabited regions in the world, where people belonging to different tribes were living. It is the 2^nd largest city of KPK. Mardan is a city with very high traditions, monumental history and civilization. The reason for the fame of this wonderland is a Sufi saint named as “Peer Mardan Shah”, who had come to this area for the purpose of preaching Islam.

According to an authentic historian, Quraysh Kabir, CyrusⅠ waved the Iranian flag over the area 2500 years ago and considered it a territory of Iran. According to his report, 2500 years ago, an industrious city was situated over here.

Location

This city is located on the north bank of the Kalyani River, which is connected to Nowshera, Dargai and Peshawar by road and rail. It is almost 60 km apart from Peshawar. 

Protected areas of Malakand are located on its North, in North East lies the Buner District, Swabi lies on East of Mardan, in the South of Mardan city there lies Nowshera district and Charsadda lies in its west. This city was given a status of division in 1988. The subdivisions of Mardan and Swabi are included in this division.

Population

According to the census of 2017, the total population here is 2,373,000. Apart from Muslim natives, Hindus, Sikhs and Christians also live here. Most of the people living in this city belong to the Muhammad and Yusufzai tribes. Younas Khan, a famous cricketer of Pakistani cricket team, also belongs to this region. This city is also honored because it is the biggest city of Pakhtuns in the world. Mardan is considered the center of the Yusufzai tribe. But besides Yusufzai, Khanak, Muhammad, Afridi, Tabnool, Lodhi and Awan tribes also live here.

Culture

The languages spoken here are Pashto, Urdu, Punjabi and Saraiki. English, Hindi, Arabic and Chinese languages are also learnt among different students as practicing languages.

Mardan is famous for farming all over the country. Sugarcane and tobacco crops are grown in abundance here. The Oranges here are well-known around the world for their flavor and sweetness. 

The people of this area also have a special attachment for music. It is common to have traditional dance at festivals and events. Rabab has a unique place in music.

Climate

In Mardan mostly the temperature is very hot. The summer season goes so long and boiling while the winters come for a short period of time. Here, the average temperature varies from 27°C to 39.6°C. 

Along with this varying temperature, this city is also blessed with rainfall. This natural rain drops refreshes the hearts of people. Hence, the best time to visit Mardan is from September or October.

Ancient Thrones of Mardan

There are also many archeological thrones in Mardan District in the areas of Takht Bahi and Jamal Garhi. These archeological thrones are very famous among tourists. The mountains of Mardan are full of minerals’ treasure. 

Marble of this city is an exemplary stone in the whole world. This stone is imported in different cities of the world. This fast growing city is also considered as a manufactured city. The largest sugar mill of south Asia is also present in this city.

Educational Status of Mardan

Mardan, which was considered the international scientific center 2000 years ago, even today is renowned for delivering knowledge. Many students of medical and engineering, IT, Computer and many belonging to other fields are seeking knowledge in this city. 

There are many institutions in this city which are still providing quality education. These famous institutes may include Abdul Wali Khan University, Agricultural University, Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Army College, Bacha Khan Medical College, University of Engineering and Technology( A sub-Campus in Mardan), and Government Post-Graduate College.

Sports Complex

 Mardan is a city which promotes sports among youth. In 2006, a well-equipped Mardan Sports Complex was also built in Mardan to promote sports. This complex is located in Sheikh Maltoon Town Mardan. You can enjoy both the indoor as well as outdoor games in this complex. It has grounds for all sports such as, cricket ground, football ground, hockey ground and basketball ground. It also has athletics track, boxing, table tennis and many other indoor games. In 2011, a swimming pool was also installed in this complex.

Along with this huge stadium, there are many other stadiums present in this city. The best of those are Qayyum Stadium, Hayatabad Sports Complex, Abdul Wali Khan Sports Complex, and Swat Sports Complex.

Traveling Services

There is no airport in Mardan, but you can avail this facility from Bacha Khan International airport, which lies very close to Mardan. This airport is about 6km distant from Mardan city.

No doubt, there isn’t any airport in the city but the most famous historic railway station “Mardan junction” is still present in the city. This is a railway track constructed in the British Era. It still has the status of a junction station. This station connects Malakand and Dargai to one side of the railway line and Charsadda and Nowshera to the other side. However, this railway track is now used for non-passenger trains (goods trains).