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Karachi is located at latitude 24° 48´ N and longitude 66° 59´ E. The urban sprawl starts from the westernmost mouth of the River Indus and goes up to the mountains and hills that form the southernmost edges of the Kirthar Mountain Range. The Arabian Sea is the southern boundary of the city.
Karachi is mostly made up of flat or rolling plains with hills on the western and northern boundaries of the urban sprawl. Two rivers pass through the city: the Malir River (north east to centre) and the Liyari River (north to south). Many other smaller rivers pass through the city as well with general drainage being from the western and northern areas towards the south. The Karachi harbour is a protected bay to the south west of the city. The harbour is protected from storms by Keamari Island, Manora Island and Oyster Rocks, which together block the greater part of the harbour entrance in the west. The southern limit of the city is the Arabian Sea and forms a chain of beautiful sandy beaches.
Karachi is located on the coast and as a result has a relatively mild climate. The level of precipitation is low for most of the year. However, due to the city's proximity to the sea, humidity levels usually remain high throughout the year. The city enjoys mild winters and very warm summers. Karachi also receives the tail end of the monsoon rains.
The area that now consists of Karachi was originally a group of small villages including Kalachi-jo-Kun and the fort of Manora. Any history of Karachi prior to the 19th century is sketchy. It is said that the city called Krokola from which one of Alexander the Great's admirals sailed at the end of his conquests was the same as Karachi. When Muhammad bin Qasim came to India in the year 712 he captured the city of Debul. It has been said that Debal was the ancestral village of present day Karachi. However, this has neither been proven or disproven.
It was in 1729 that Kolachi-jo-Goth was transformed from a fishing village to a trading post when it was selected as a port for trade with Muscat and Bahrain. In the following years a fort was built and cannons brought in from Muscat were mounted on it. The fort had two doorways, one facing the sea called the Khara Darwaza or Brackish Gate and one facing the River Lyari called the Meetha Darwaza or Sweet Gate. In 1795 the city passed from the Khan of Kalat to the Talpur rulers of Sindh.
Karachi gained in position as a major port and rapidly developed as an important city. The importance of the Indus and Sindh led the British to capture the city on the 3rd of February 1839 starting an era of foreign rule and colonial subjugation that was to end in 1947. A famous quote about Karachi attributed to Charles Napier is "Would that I could come again to see you in your grandeur!". Napier's quote proved almost prophetic as it was under the British raj that Karachi would grow as its harbour was developed. On the 10th of September 1857 the 21st Native Infantry stationed in Karachi declared allegiance to the Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar and joined the cause of the War of Independence of 1857. The uprising was defeated by the British who reasserted their control within a matter of days.
In 1876, the founder of Pakistan Muhammed Ali Jinnah was born in the city, and he would later be buried there. By this time Karachi was a city with railroads, churches, paved streets, courts and many commercial centres as well as a magnificent harbour built by the British. Many of the buildings were built in classical British colonial style, contrasting significantly with the "Mughal Gothic" of LahoreLahore is a major city in Pakistan that is the capital of the province of Punjab. It is located near the river Ravi and the Indian border. Lahore has 6. 5 million inhabitants and thus is the second largest city in Pakistan ( Karachi being the largest).. Many of these old buildings exist today and provide interesting destinations for visitors.
Karachi continued to grow in size as well as importance due to its position as a major port. A railroad connected Karachi to the rest of British India in the 1880s. In 1899 Karachi was said to be the largest wheat exporting port in the East (Feldman 1970:57). In 1911 when the capital was shifted to Delhi, Karachi became closer to being a Gateway to India. Karachi was declared the capital of the newly formed Sindh province in 1936, chosen over the traditional capital of Hyderabad.
In 1947Events January January 1 British mines nationalized January 1 Nigeria gains limited autonomy January 1 The Canadian Citizenship Act went into effect January 3 Proceedings of the United States Congress are televised for the first time. January 10 United Na, Karachi was made the capital of the new nation of Pakistan. At that time Karachi was a city of only 400,000 people, and its growth accelerated as a result of its new status. Being the capital, Karachi became a focal point for the new nation and this added to its status as a cultural centre in this part of the world. Although the capital later moved to RawalpindiRwalpindi is a city near Islamabad, Pakistan. It is the military headquarters and also served as the nation's capital while Islamabad was being constructed in the 1960s. The city is home to many industries and factories. Islamabad International Airport is and then IslamabadCapitals in Asia Cities in Pakistan Islamabad (, population 530,000) is the capital city of Pakistan, located in the north-east of the country. It is located within the Islamabad Capital Territory, though the area has historically been a part of the Punja, Karachi remains the economic centre of Pakistan, accounting for a large portion of the GNP of the nation and a large chunk of the nations white collar workers.
In the last 20 years, Karachi has continued to grow, passing the ten million mark. It is a city of diverse neighbourhoods, ranging from the upscale Clifton and Defence areas to numerous slums that are home to the large numbers of migrants who have flocked to Karachi in search of opportunities.
The current economic boom in Pakistan has created a sudden growth spurt in Karachi as jobs and infrastructure projects are increasing with time.
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