Rumor has it that Karachi was named after the fisher woman Mai Kolachi, who settled in the mid 17th century in the area where the Indus River flows into the Indian Ocean. Once a small fishing town, the city is now the heart of the Pakistani economy, hosting the biggest companies and large textile, drug, iron, and automotive factories.
Even though there are lots of things to say about Karachi, I guess the first things to mention are the smell and the temperature that you will feel upon leaving the airport. It seems as if the smell of spice follows you all around the city. The temperature is often at unbearable levels. It gets harder to breathe even in the shade during the day when it hits 40°C for many months of the year. For this reason, the most favorable time for travel is between October and February.
As the public transportation in the city is not that developed, the most convenient medium of transport for short-term holidays is taxi. We were very lucky in that the hotel we stayed at was one that offers sightseeing tours with their own cars. In the city center, you can come across buses completely embellished without any blank spaces left, trucks, donkey-drawn vehicles, and plenty of motorcycle riders.
As Pakistan is an old British colony, the traffic flows on the left-hand side. It is possible to see the impact of the colonial period from the tea drunk with milk everywhere.
In Karachi, there are sellers on almost every street. Freshly squeezed orange juice, sliced mangoes, and some kinds of dried fruits are on offer everywhere. You can find desserts, freshly squeezed juices, milkshakes, and even salads made of mango, which is the most common food in the country. The Pakistani call mango the “king of the fruit.”
The most striking ingredients in the meals without a doubt are the spices. Although I could not eat much as meals abundant in spice do not appeal to the Turkish palate, according to Moosa, our tour guide from Karachi, Pakistani meals are truly delicious. According to the information I got from him, the least spicy meal has 6 different spices in it on average, and this number goes up to 15 in some dishes.
Karachi exports textiles and clothing to many places all around the world. It is possible to buy leather products in particular for a really low price. I was not planning to buy anything but just out of curiosity, I visited several leather workshops with Moosa.
As the ocean surges up during the night and ebbs during the day, there appear unbroken, very straight and fantastic sandy beaches. Clifton Beach, which is close to the city center, is one of the most popular places among the inhabitants of the city. There may be people coming closer to offer you a tour on a camel. I strongly recommend you take this unique opportunity.
This lively port town on the coast of the Indian Ocean is a must-see for those who are curious about different cultures. I recommend you add it to your list of places to visit.
