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Old City Bazaar
The old part of
Karachi contains at
least a dozen major
bazaars. Apart from
the big ones, there
are smaller clusters
of shops lining the
streets in between
the bazaars. Such is
the profusion and
confusion of shops
in this part of the
city, and such is
the proximity of
most of these
bazaars to each
other, that it is
impossible to
determine where one
bazaar ends, and the
other begins.
Therefore, do not be
surprised to find
yourself in the
midst of shops and
stalls in a narrow
street, with our
list of bazaars in
your hands,
wondering which part
you are in at that
moment. Perhaps even
we will find it
difficult to tell
you for sure!
Instead of driving
yourself the best
thing would be to
hire a taxi, since
the taxi driver is
more likely to be
well-acquainted with
the various bazaars.
Botal Gali
Botal Gali (Bottle
Lane), should be
relatively easy to
find. It is just
another name given
to Hasan Ali Lane, a
narrow lane, across
M.A. Jinnah Road (Bunder
Road) from K.M.C.
Office building. The
ideal time to visit
this particular
bazaar, is between
12 noon and 6 pm.
Here you will find
shops that sell
recycled bottles,
bottle caps, oils,
and perfumes. If you
are lucky you can
find the occasional
rare and beautiful
bottle.
There are a host of
shops which sell not
only the traditional
itr (perfume), but
also cheap
non-alcoholic modern
perfumes resembling
famous designer
fragrances such as,
Chanel No. 5, Cool
Water, Escape etc.
The prices of
bottles vary: 25 ml
bottles are sold in
the range of 80-100
rupees, decanters
cost 250 rupees, and
so on.
Light House
Bazaar
Adjacent to the
K.M.C. Head Office
Building, off M.A.
Jinnah Road (Bunder
Road) is the Light
House Bazaar
district. This
district is famous
for shops selling
old rugs, bicycles,
recycled paper,
picture frames,
fabric lengths,
shoes and medicine.
Particularly good
bargains are
second-hand
hardly-worn woolen
apparel, coats and
jackets for winter
months. To describe
the area seen from
an expatriate's eye,
we can do no better
than to quote from
Welcome to Karachi,
a Guide by The
American Women's
Club and The British
Women's Association:
"Prepare to have an
experience of a life
time. One will
definitely get
dirty, but you will
have fun finding
ball gowns, ski
outfits, boots,
sweaters, clothes
for Halloween
costumes, blankets
for your chaowkidars,
jackets and much
more. Think of it as
being on a treasure
hunt. If you have
ever sent anything
to good will or
charity shops look
hard, and you might
find it. Prices are
cheap, be ready to
bargain. Take a
friend."
Khori Garden
The market around
Khori Garden is
dedicated to cheap,
second hand
magazines and old
books in good
condition. A variety
of magazines
outnumber books
available here. You
can also find, at
amazingly low
prices, new books
published abroad,
but without their
cover, which for
some reason were
rejected for sale.
Khajoor Bazaar /
Sarrafa Bazaar etc.
There are several
bazaars, that twist
and wind through
each other. In
Sarrafa
(Silversmith's)
Bazaar you can find
old silver jewellery
being sold by
weight, and in
Bartan Gali small
shops are stacked up
high with pots and
pans selling every
conceivable
traditional
kitchenware. Around
Khajoor Bazaar shops
sell a variety of
merchandise, for
example, colorful
Muslim prayer mats,
fabric lengths,
clothes for
toddlers, brightly
colored sarees,
imitation jewelry,
hair accessories,
lace, thread reels,
toys, tea, buttons
and bags. Hawkers
sell anything from
embroidered Sindhi
hats to colored
pyjama cords and
strips of walnut
bark traditionally
used for cleaning
your teeth, and said
to keep them
extraordinarily
white. In the Kapra
Market (Cloth
Bazaar), you will
find a most colorful
array of all kinds
of fabrics. In
addition to the
usual lengths you
will be able to get
a wide variety of
traditional hand
printed Ajrak,
colorful, hand-woven
Sussi and the
Bandini
(tie-and-die) cloth
in a variety of
color combinations.
Old City Bazaars
Saddar Shopping
Tariq Road Shopping
Clifton & Zamzama Shops
Jummah Bazaars
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