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Geography
The city of Karachi is located at latitude
24° 48´ N and longitude
66° 59´ E. The city
occupies an area of over 4,000
km² and is expanding.
Karachi is mostly made up
of flat or rolling plains
with hills on the western
and northern boundaries of
the urban sprawl. Two small
rivers pass through the city:
the Malir River (north east
to centre) and the Lyari River
(north to south). Many other
smaller streams also pass
through the city as well with
general drainage being from
the western and northern areas
towards the south. The Karachi
harbor is a protected bay
to the south west of the city.
The harbor is protected from
storms by Kemari Island, Manora
Island and Oyster Rocks, which
together block the greater
part of the harbor entrance
in the west. The southern
limit of the city is the Arabian
Sea and forms a chain of warm
water beaches that are rich
in natural beauty.
Climate
Karachi is located on the coast and as
a result has a relatively
mild climate. The level of
precipitation is low for most
of the year. However, due
to the city's proximity to
the sea, humidity levels usually
remain high throughout the
year. The city enjoys mild
winters and very warm summers.
Karachi also receives the
tail end of the monsoon rains.
Since summer temperatures
(the end of April through
the end of August are approximately
30 to 48 degrees Celsius),
the winter months (November
through March) are the mildest
time of the year.
History
The modern humans after their evolution
in Africa spread to the rest
of the world. Karachi lies
along their coastal migration
path to South Asia and beyond.
The fertile Indus valley has
been inhabited since the dawn
of the history. The Indus
Valley civilization of Pakistan
traded with Mesopotamian civilization
and with Persian Gulf communities.
Karachi's natural harbor was
probably served as the main
port of the Indus Valley civilization.
The earliest known reference
of the area that is now Karachi
is during the Alexander the
Great's invasion of Pakistan
in 326 B.C. Alexander the
Great after conquering the
Indus Valley, modern Pakistan,
camped on the port city of
"Krokola" on the
return voyage to Mesopotamia.
Alexander the Great planned
to build a port city at this
location for the trade and
communication with his Indus
valley satrapy and his empire.
Alexander 's admiral Nearchus
sailed back to Mesopotamia
from 'Morontobara' port which
is probably the modern Manora
Island at Karachi harbor.
According to legend, "Krokola"
was started when an old woman
by the name of Mai Kolachi,
settled near the mouth of
the Indus to start a community.
A small fishing village developed
in the area, which was called
Kolachi-jo-Goth i.e. 'Village
of Kolachi". The Arab
general Mohammad Bin Qasim
conquered Karachi in 712 A.D.
and introduced Islam in Pakistan.
The Arab empire stretched
from Kashmir to Sindh along
the Indus river, i.e. modern
Pakistan. In the sixteenth
century Ottoman empire was
defending Arabian sea trade
routes from the Portuguese
pirates. Portuguese captured
'Keti Bandar' small port in
Karachi harbor and also other
ports along Sindh Gujarat
ports during the war between
Mughal emperor Humayun and
Gujarat's ruler Bahadur Shah.
The local governor requested
help from the Ottoman empire.
When the Ottoman governor
of Egypt, Suleiman Pasha heard
this, he left Suez on the
15th of Moharram of the Year
945 Hijri (1538 A.D.) with
a well-equipped fleet of 80
vessels. Ottoman fleet sailed
on to Sindh and after a successful
battle, the two strongholds
Kukeke and Ket (Keti-bender
in the district of Karachi)
were liberated from the Portuguese
occupation. Ottoman Turkish
Amir-ul-Bahr (Admiral) Sidi
(Syed) Ali Reis (Rais) wrote
his autobiography entitled
'Mirat al Memalik' (the Mirror
of Countries) during the year
1553-1556 in which he mentions
visiting port of Debal (Karachi)
and described it as a important
harbor on the Sindh coast.
It was in 1729 that Kolachi-jo-Goth
was transformed from a fishing
village to a trading post
when it was selected as a
port for trade with Muscat
and Bahrain. In the following
years a fort was built and
cannons brought in from Muscat
were mounted on it. The fort
had two doorways, one facing
the Arabian sea called the
'Khara Darwaza' i.e. Brackish
Gate and one facing the River
Lyari called the 'Meetha Darwaza'
i.e. Sweet Gate. Currently,
the site of those gates corresponds
to the location of the neighborhoods
of Kharadar and Meethadar.
In 1795 the city passed from
the Khan of Kalat to the Talpur
rulers of Sindh. British first
visited Karachi in 1809 when
a diplomatic mission visited
the Talpur Mirs. The British
saw the importance of the
of Karachi and Indus River,
believing it could be an important
commercial highway. British
also feared the invasion of
South Asia from the expanding
Russian empire and needed
a route to supply and strengthen
relations with Afghanistan.
On 3rd February 1839, the
British captured the Karachi
and three years later, annexed
it into British Empire as
the district of Karachi. The
British, who realized its
potential as a port city for
the produce of the Indus Valley,
developed it into a commercial
trading center. The harbor
was developed, and a railroad
that connected the city to
the rest of South Asian British
Empire was constructed in
the 1880's. The city for which
Sir Charles Napier once quoted,
"One day it shall be
the Queen of the East",
quickly blossomed into a major
commercial center that attracted
businessmen from all over
the world including communities
of Goans, Zorastarians (Parsis),
Lebanese, and other South
Asian traders apart from the
British. Thus was the beginning
of the city of Karachi. After
the independence of Pakistan,
the city absorbed the tides
of Muslim refugees into the
new country, and it was made
the capital of Pakistan. In
1961, the capital was shifted
from Karachi to the new city
of Islamabad, and Karachi
fell a victim of mismanagement
and bad governance. Since
its beginnings, the city of
Karachi has immensely swelled
in size and population, and
today ranks as one of the
world's mega-cities with a
unique culture, dynamism,
and energy of its own.
Demography
The population of Karachi was estimated
to be more than 15 million
in 2005. Linguistically, approximately
45% are Urdu speaking, 15%
Sindhis, 15% Punjabis, 15%
Pakhtuns, 10% Balochis, and
the rest are Kashmiris, Brahuis,
Seraikis, Bengalis, Goans,
Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmen,
Iranians, Arabs, and Burmese.
Religiously, over 98% of the
inhabitants are Muslim and
there are small minorities
of Christians, Hindus, Qadianis,
Zorastarians, and Bahais.
Towns
City District Government of Karachi (CDGK)
is a federation of eighteen
autonomous towns, formed in
2001.
Baldia
Town
Bin Qasim Town
Gadap Town
Gulberg Town
Gulshan Town
Jamshed Town
Kiamari Town
Korangi Town
Landhi Town
Liaquatabad Town
Lyari Town
Malir Town
New Karachi Town
North Nazimabad Town
Orangi Town
Saddar Town
Shah Faisal Town
SITE Town
The
Defense House Society and
Cantonment area in Karachi
is maintained seperately by
an agency of the Pakistan
armed forces. Defense House
Society is the most posh neighborhood
of Karachi. The Cantonment
area includes major part of
Karachi's downtown.
Page last updated:
Thursday, November 10, 2005
04:22:25 PM -0500
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