Karachi (Culture)
Note on Mohatta Palace Out-Houses
I have visited Mohatta Palace on two occasions to assess the relationship between the out-houses and the Palace Complex. My views on the subject are given below. The Palace is obviously being restored because it...
A Note on Criteria for Listing Historic Buildings in Karachi and its Relationship to a Larger Conservation Plan
Criteria for the final listing of historic buildings have to be prepared as a part of a larger conservation plan and have to be derived from the research work that is required for the preparation of such a plan. The manner in which the conservation law is applied and the incentives and support mechanisms that go with it, also have to be part of the conservation plan. For the development of such a plan there are a number of activities that are necessary.
Conserving Karachi’s Historic Architecture
Karachi was established in 1729 as a fortified port settlement. Although the city is only 250 years old, there are places of pilgrimage within it that go back to more than 2000 years. Most of...
The Changing Face of Karachi
With its chaotic traffic, haphazard planning rampant encroachments, the once elegant and sophisticated heart of Karachi has changed dramatically over the years. Where there were once magnificent sandstone structures, there are now commercial plazas, warehouses...
A Generation Comes of Age
Civic strife in Karachi and Hyderabad, Sind’s two largest cities, has escalated in the last two years into what appears to be a major ethnic conflict. The government has responded to the situation by arresting...
Karachi’s Disappearing Troughs
Before the mid-1920s, almost all transport in Karachi was animal-drawn. Bullock, donkey and camel carts were used for carrying cargo and as transportation for the poor, while the rich moved around in their horse-drawn victorias...
A Pedestrian’s Saddar
On February 3, 1839, the HMS Wellesley bombarded the Fort of Manora. In the space of three hours the western arm of the fort was destroyed, and Karachi was enveloped in a cloud of smoke....
