Manora, Karachi
Encyclopedia
Port of Karachi
The Port of Karachi is Pakistan's largest and busiest seaport, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo . It is located between the Karachi towns of Kiamari and Saddar, close to the main business district and several industrial areas. The geographic position of the port places it in close...
, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Manora is connected to the mainland by a 12 kilometer long causeway called the Sandspit
Sandspit Beach
Sandspit Beach is situated south west of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is a very famous tourist spot. The sea at Sandspit is very calm and quiet from October to March and very rough during the monsoon. Remarkable variety of marine life-algae, and crabs are found here. The shallow water here is ideal...
. Manora and neighboring islands form a protective barrier between Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
harbor to the north and the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
to the south. The western bay of the harbor contains endangered mangrove forests which border the Sandspit
Sandspit Beach
Sandspit Beach is situated south west of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is a very famous tourist spot. The sea at Sandspit is very calm and quiet from October to March and very rough during the monsoon. Remarkable variety of marine life-algae, and crabs are found here. The shallow water here is ideal...
and Manora island. To the east is Karachi Bay and the beach towns of Kiamari
Kiamari
Kiamari is one of the neighbourhood of Kiamari Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.There are several ethnic groups in Kiamari including Muhajirs, Punjabis, Sindhis, Kashmiris, Seraikis, Pakhtuns, Balochis, Memons, Bohras, Ismailis, etc. Over 99% of the population is Muslim. The population of Kiamari...
and Clifton. The peninsula is located at 24°48′00"N 66°58′00"E (24.800000, 66.970000). There are several ethnic groups including Muhajirs, Punjabis
Punjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
, Sindhis
Sindhi people
Sindhis are a Sindhi speaking socio-ethnic group of people originating from Sindh, a province Formerly of British India, now in Pakistan. Today Sindhis that live in Pakistan belong to various religious denominations including Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity...
, Kashmiris
Kashmiri people
The Kashmiri people are a Dardic linguistic group living in Kashmir Valley in Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and parts of the Pakistani territory of Azad Kashmir who speak the Kashmiri language...
, Seraikis
Saraiki people
The Saraiki people or Multani people are an ethnic group from the central and south-eastern areas of Pakistan, especially the former princely state of Bahawalpur and the districts of Multan, Lodhran, Vehari, Khanewal, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh,...
, Pakhtuns
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
, Balochis
Baloch people
The Baloch or Baluch are an ethnic group that belong to the larger Iranian peoples. Baluch people mainly inhabit the Balochistan region and Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast corner of the Iranian plateau in Western Asia....
, Memons, Bohras, Ismailis, etc. Over 99% of the population is Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
. Salehabad
Salehabad
Salehabad is a fishing village in Pakistan. It is located in Karachi on Manora island, in Kiamari Town.- External links :* ....
is a historic traditional fishing village
Traditional fishing village
A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres...
on the peninsula.
History
Krokola
Krokola was an ancient port located in what is now the modern city of Karachi, in the Sindh province of Pakistan. According to legends, it was a port developed when an old fisherwoman by the name of Mai Kolachi settled near the delta of the Indus River to start a community.This area was known to...
, the place where Alexander the Great camped to prepare a fleet for Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
after his campaign in the Indus valley; 'Morontobara' island (ancient Manora island near Karachi harbour
Port of Karachi
The Port of Karachi is Pakistan's largest and busiest seaport, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo . It is located between the Karachi towns of Kiamari and Saddar, close to the main business district and several industrial areas. The geographic position of the port places it in close...
), from where Alexander's admiral Nearchus
Nearchus
Nearchus was one of the officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. His celebrated voyage from India to Susa after Alexander's expedition in India is preserved in Arrian's account, the Indica....
set sail; and Barbarikon
Barbarikon
Barbarikon was the name of a sea port near the modern-day city of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, important in the Hellenistic era in Indian Ocean trade...
, a port of the Indo-Greek Bactria
Bactria
Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
n kingdom. Alexander's writers:
- Then making their way through two rocks, so close together that the oar-blades of the ships touched the rocks to port and starboard, they moored at Morontobara, after sailing some three hundred stades. The harbour is spacious, circular, deep, and calm, but its entrance is narrow. They called it, in the natives' language, 'The Ladies' Pool,' since a lady was the first sovereign of this district. When they had got safe through the rocks, they met great waves, and the sea running strong; and moreover it seemed very hazardous to sail seaward of the cliffs. For the next day, however, they sailed with an island on their port beam, so as to break the sea, so close indeed to the beach that one would have conjectured that it was a channel cut between the island and the coast. The entire passage was of some seventy stades. On the beach were many thick trees, and the island was wholly covered with shady forest. About dawn, they sailed outside the island, by a narrow and turbulent passage; for the tide was still falling. And when they had sailed some hundred and twenty stades they anchored in the mouth of the river Arabis. There was a fine large harbour by its mouth; but there was no drinking water; for the mouths of the Arabis were mixed with sea-water. However, after penetrating forty stades inland they found a water-hole, and after drawing water thence they returned back again. By the harbour was a high island, desert, and round it one could get oysters and all kinds of fish. Up to this the country of the Arabeans extends; they are the last Indians settled in this direction; from here on the territory, of the Oreitans begins.
The Manora Island and was visited by Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Seydi Ali Reis
Seydi Ali Reis
Seydi Ali Reis was an Ottoman admiral.He commanded the left wing of the Ottoman fleet at the naval Battle of Preveza in 1538....
and mentioned in his book Mir'ât ül Memâlik in 1554. According to the British historian Eliot, parts of city of Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
and the island of Manora at port of Karachi
Port of Karachi
The Port of Karachi is Pakistan's largest and busiest seaport, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo . It is located between the Karachi towns of Kiamari and Saddar, close to the main business district and several industrial areas. The geographic position of the port places it in close...
constituted the city of Debal
Debal
-Introduction:Debal was an ancient port located near modern Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. In Arabic, it was usually called Daybul it is adjacent to the nearby Manora Island and was administered by Mansura, and later Thatta....
. The island was the site of a small fort constructed in the eighteenth century when the port of Karachi traded with Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
and Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
. The fort was stormed by the British in 1839 because of the strategic location of Karachi. Although the fort is now buried beneath the naval base, the lighthouse is a visible reminder of the British presence having been built in 1889 to assist vessels approaching Karachi harbor.
The island of Manora has served for more than 50 years as the main base of the Pakistan Navy
Pakistan Navy
The Pakistan Navy is the naval warfare/service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Pakistan's Navy is responsible for Pakistan's coastline along the Arabian Sea and the defense of important civilian harbors and military bases...
, with berths for naval vessels located along the eastern edge of the island. The island has been governed as a military cantonment despite being located so close to Karachi. The opening of the new Jinnah Naval Base
Jinnah Naval Base
Jinnah Naval Base is located at Ormara, Balochistan, Pakistan. Jinnah Naval Base is a Pakistan Naval support marine and naval research and development base which consists of a military airport and a space facility. The facility is under control of the Pakistan Navy. The base is named after...
at Ormara
Ormara
Ormara is a port city located in the Makran or coastal region of Balochistan Province in Pakistan. It is located 360 km west of Karachi and 230 km east of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. This port is also mentioned in Periplus of the Erythraean Sea as Oraea.- History :Ormara is an old...
, 250 kilometers away, has meant that approximately half of the naval vessels have moved away from Manora.
Tourism
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
(28 m or 91 feet (27.7 m) high) in Pakistan. The island lies approximately 15–20 minutes by boat ride from mainland Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
but there are no good hotels available for an overnight stay. For this and other reasons, the Government of Pakistan has been considering developing the island into a tourist destination. The island has been envisioned as an exotic location with natural landscapes such as the beaches and the mangrove forests, and secluded beauty with an upgrade for the lighthouse to add to the quaint feel of the island.
Development
Pakistan's Ministry for Ports and Shipping signed a memorandum of understanding in 2006 with Dubai World and M/s Limitless + Dubai Islamic Bank for the redevelopment of Manora Island. As part of the development plans, the KPTKarachi Port Trust
Karachi Port Trust is a Pakistani federal government agency that oversees the operations of the Port of Karachi in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.-History:...
and all military establishments will vacate the island and hand it over to the companies for development. The development will comprise establishing high rise hotels and apartment buildings in the areas.
Demography
There are several ethnic groups in Manora Island including Muhajirs, PunjabisPunjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
, Sindhis
Sindhi people
Sindhis are a Sindhi speaking socio-ethnic group of people originating from Sindh, a province Formerly of British India, now in Pakistan. Today Sindhis that live in Pakistan belong to various religious denominations including Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity...
, Kashmiris
Kashmiri people
The Kashmiri people are a Dardic linguistic group living in Kashmir Valley in Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and parts of the Pakistani territory of Azad Kashmir who speak the Kashmiri language...
, Seraikis
Saraiki people
The Saraiki people or Multani people are an ethnic group from the central and south-eastern areas of Pakistan, especially the former princely state of Bahawalpur and the districts of Multan, Lodhran, Vehari, Khanewal, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh,...
, Pakhtuns
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
, Balochis
Baloch people
The Baloch or Baluch are an ethnic group that belong to the larger Iranian peoples. Baluch people mainly inhabit the Balochistan region and Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast corner of the Iranian plateau in Western Asia....
, Memons, Bohras, Ismailis, etc. Over 99% of the population is Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
.
See also
- Manora Island
- Manora CantonmentManora CantonmentThe Manora Cantonment is a cantonment town in a small Manora Island, located just south of the Karachi, in Sindh, Pakistan. It serves as a military base and residential establishment. It was established by the British Indian Army in 19th century British India, and taken over by the Pakistan Army...
- Shri Varun Dev MandirShri Varun Dev MandirShri Varun Dev Mandir is a Hindu Temple located in Manora Island in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. According to Hindu mythology, Varuna is the god of the oceans. The exact year of the construction or foundation of this temple is not known but it is widely believed that current structure of this temple...
, Manora - Pakistan Naval AcademyPakistan Naval AcademyThe Pakistan Naval Academy The Pakistan Naval Academy The Pakistan Naval Academy (formerly known as Pakistan Naval Station Rahbar (PNS Rahbar) is a four-year coeducational federal military academy located in Manora Island, Sindh Province, Pakistan...
- KarachiKarachiKarachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
- Pakistan NavyPakistan NavyThe Pakistan Navy is the naval warfare/service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Pakistan's Navy is responsible for Pakistan's coastline along the Arabian Sea and the defense of important civilian harbors and military bases...
- Morontobara
- List of islands of Pakistan