Some Small Facts About Karachi

As someone who grew up in Karachi, the most I was taught about its history revolved around the history of its name (derived from the town of Mai Kolachi) and that the Venetian gothic style buildings were remnants of the British cantonments and Karachi’s short-lived existence as the capital city of Pakistan.

Karachi has a rich history, and the architectural heritage that still stands impressively (despite languishing in neglect for decades).

Karachi’s is said to have been known as Barbarikon during the Indo-Greek Kingdom. That town became Kolachi jo goth when an old fisher woman by the name of Mai Kolachi settled there, and the town eventually came to be known as Karachi.

Kharadar and Meethadar areas are the sites of two gates of a fortress that was built near the village of Kolachi near Manora by the Talpura Amirs in the pre-19th century history.

The Talpura Amirs erected a small fort at Manora near the village, which had some cannons brought in from Muscat. The fort had two doorways: one facing the sea known as Khaara Darwaaza (Brackish gate) and the other facing the Lyari river known as Meetha Darwaaza

Karachi officially became a part of the British empire in 1843, which is also the year when the city got linked to Multan via river transport . That led to a significant growth in population