Ali Masjid fortress in the Khyber Pass, Afghanistan, 1878 (c)

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

The fortress was known as the 'Key to the Pass' as it defended its narrowest point. When the British invaded Afghanistan 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. Burke accompanied the Peshawar Valley Field Force into Afghanistan as an unofficial photographer.