Taxila & Hassanabdal
Taxila lies a few km’s from Islamabad it is the modern form of
Takshashila was the centre of Gandhara civilization during the first
millennium BC and first millennium AD. It was the seat of inspiration
and learning that gave its real expansion to Buddhism in the first
millennium AD. Great Mauryan King Kanishka who embraced Buddhism,
developed his capital as the centre of spiritual enlightenment. It was
from here that Buddhism spread to the eastern regions through the
northern valleys of Karakorum, Himalaya and Hindukush. Buddhism is just
one aspect of Gandhara. One can find lively impressions of the Romans,
Greeks, Huns, and Iranians. While Alexander the Great came here from the
west, Famous Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang came from the east.
