“South Pakistan tourism”

South Pakistan tourism is must for someone who is keen to learn about old cultures and the oldest Indus Civilization. Indus Civilization or Sindh Civilization in not only todays valleys around the river Indus but extends up to Calcutta of India. The main religion of Indus Civilization is Hinduism but one finds great influence on all local religions including the other religions from other parts of the world as well.

South Pakistan tourism is not only exploration of the old sites but much more than that. The province includes a number of important historical sites. The Indus Valley civilization (5000 years old) was centered mostly in the Sindh Valley. Sindh has numerous tourist sites with the most prominent being the ruins of Mohenjo-Daro located near the city of Larkana. Islamic architecture is quite visible in the old monuments of Sufi Saints and the mosques. Additionally natural sites, like Manchar and Kenjar Lakes have increasingly been a source of Sindh and south Pakistan tourism.

Tourism in Mohenjodaro Valley

Tourism in Mohenjodaro Valley is essential to understand Indus Valley culture. Moenjodaro is the cradle of Indus civilization. This pre-historic civilization flourished from the third till the middle of the second millennium B.C, when it mysteriously disappeared. The archeological excavations place Moenjodaro among the most spectacular ancient cities of the world. It had mud-brick and baked-brick buildings, an elaborate covered drainage system with soakpits for disposal bins, a large and imposing building (probably a palace) and citadel mound which incorporates in its margin a system of solid burnt brick towers.

Mohenjo-daro was one of the largest city-settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization which thrived in ancient times along the Indus River. There are various spellings for the site with different meanings. Mohenjo-daro means the Mound of Mohen or Mohan. Alternatives are Mohanjo-daro (Mound of Mohan or Krishna), Moenjo-daro (Mound of the Dead), Mohenjodaro or Mohen-jo-daro. Mohenjo-daro itself is located in Larkana District in the modern-day province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built before 2600 BCE, the city was one of the earliest urban settlements in the world, existing at the same time as the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Crete. The remains of the city are designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and have been referred to as an “ancient Indus Valley metropolis”.

Mohenjo-daro was built around 2600 BCE and abandoned around 1500 BCE. It was rediscovered in 1922 by RakhaldasBandyopadhyay, an officer of the Archaeological Survey of India. He was led to the mound by a Buddhist monk, who believed it to be a stupa. In the 1930s, massive excavations were conducted under the leadership of John Marshall, K. N. Dikshit, Ernest Mackay, and others. John Marshall’s car, which was used by the site directors, is still in the Mohenjo-daro museum, showing their struggle and dedication to Mohenjo-daro. Further excavations were carried out in 1945 by Ahmad Hasan Dani and Mortimer Wheeler.

Tourism in Karachi

City of Quaid-e-Azam

Karachi is commonly known as city of Quaid (Mohammad Ali Jinnah). Karachi is birth place of Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Quaid/ the founder) and has several buildings associated with his life. Wazir Mansion rented by Jinnah’s father when he moved in the early 1870 is now converted into museum possessed with Quaid’s personal belongings.

Quaid’s Tomb

The tomb of the Quaid e Azam shows a neat fusion of traditional and modern Islamic architect. Standing on a 54 square meters platform, the white marble mausoleum has high arches filled with copper grills, a North African style. The cool and airy interior is decorated with Japanese tiles, a four tiered Chinese crystal chandelier and an Iranian silver railing around the cenotaph. There is a spectacular garden around the mausoleum.

Beaches and Harbours

An almost uninterrupted line of beaches leads for several hundred kilometers west of Karachi, along Balochistan’sMakran coast into Iran. Few foreign tourists would like to take Pakistan or Karachi for beach holidays; however Clifton beach, the nearest beach to the city is very popular picnic resort for the local Karachites and for Pakistanis as well. Several beaches like Sandspit, Hawkes Bay and paradise point can be reached by car in 45 minutes – local buses are also available from Lea market but take one and half hour. French Beach at the center of the Hawkes bay is 40 km from Karachi, is for exclusive use for foreigners and privileged Pakistanis.

Keamari Harbour is strategically placed on the Arabian Sea. Karachi has taken full advantage of this fine natural harbor to become the key port in Pakistan. Nowadays it has become a economic hub for Pakistan. It is also a main source of entry for the transit goods to Afghanistan and then to central Asia.

Bazaars and Markets

Being the largest city of Pakistan Karachi gives a touch of new fashion arrivals and a very popular city for the shoppers.Saddar Bazaar is one of the old bazaars in Karachi and has numerous carpet shops, jewelry, and handicraft centers. Bohri Bazaar is famous for cloth markets whereas EmpressMarket is for vegetables and fruits. Jodia, Khajour and Sarafa Bazaars are famous for gold, silver and other precious jewelry.

National Museum

This is a quite big museum covering all segments from Stone Age to today’s modern culture and life style. It starts with Pre and proto-historic gallery, Ghandaran gallery, Hindu sculptures and takes you to Islamic gallery and then to Freedom movement galleryand at the end also see Ethnology gallery. One can easily spend one to 2 hours visiting this remarkable museum.

Mosques and Churches

Tooba Mosque in Defense area of Karachi is a kind of a great symbol in the field of Islamic architect. It attracts lots of domestic and foreign tourists. The single minaret of this mosque is 75 meter high. Memon mosque near Boulton market is equally traditional and impressive. There is also number of Anglo-Indian churches in the city. St Andrew’s church on Liaqat Rd, St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral church on Shahrae Iraq, and Holy Trinity on the south of Saddar.

Karachi Zoo and Dhobi Ghat

Karachi Zoo on Nishtar road is not maintaining the international standard but to some extent it is an opportunity for the local animal lovers. Wednesday is a ladies-only day and is full of colors. About one kilometer of the Zoo, on theLyariRiver is Dhobi Ghat; a fascinating and one of the largest outdoor laundries in the world. It is stretching about one kilometer along the river bank of Lyari and is a great tourist attraction in Karachi (no entry fee).

Shopping in Karachi

Thomas & Thomas in Saddar and Ferozsons in Main Clifton and Sam Bookshop in Saddar are the best book shops in Karachi. The larges carpet seller is Afghan carpet warehouse in Clifton.

Zainab market in Saddar, Defence and Clifton markets are famous for clothing shopping. Asian Leather Kraft, Dice Gifts and Mr Leather in Sheraton hotel, English Boot House in ZaibunNisastreet are the famous leather garment shops.