The end of the defile, looking back at Ali Masjid, 1878 (c)

Photograph by John Burke, 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880), 1878 (c).

This view of the rocky defile below the fortress of Ali Masjid depicts two Indian soldiers next to a stream. The fort sat upon steep cliffs and was located at the centre of the Khyber Pass, protecting its narrowest point. When the British invaded Afghanistan during the 2nd Afghan War the Peshawar Valley Field Force, led by Lieutenant-General Sam Browne, captured the fort on 21 November 1878 in order to secure British control of the Khyber.

From an album of 100 photographs by John Burke, 1878 (c).