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| Empress Market Karachi Built in 1889 |
Sunday, November 18, 2018
This time
the Photo Walk was already arranged by Sara, a photography teacher and Nasrin Ghori’s friend, so I had to
join them only.
We started
from the Empress Market, which is in the news these days due to anti-encroachment
drive in the city. All the illegal settlements around and inside the historical
building have been removed so that the place could be restored and converted
into a green public space.
Karachi’s Empress Market is one of the prominent heritage structures of the city which not only reflects metropolitan’s majestic past but also hints about city’s prevailing chaotic urban lifestyle.
This 19th century magnificent building with a clock tower standing tall in the front was constructed by the British Empire. Like in many other Karachi heritage structures, Sandstone from Jodhpur (present day India) was used in the construction of the classy building.
If you feel interested, here is a very interesting read in Urdu about the history of Empress Market connecting the site to the 1857 War of Independence: https://www.dawnnews.tv/news/1091268
After the
Empress Market cleanup, almost everyone in Karachi is debating about the
implications of the ongoing anti-encroachment drive. For a common man, it is a
sigh of relief; however those who are affected complaining that their bread and
butter has been snatched. While the debate will continue, it is sure that this
time government is serious about it.
Coming back
to our walk, first we had a detailed re-look at the Empress Market which was
completely cleaned from the outside while those structures inside the courtyard
were also half demolished.
Empress
Market had been my go-to place for some grocery items, even in the era of
convenience stores, so much so that some of my friends even make fun of my
habit. So I could not resist my instinct and bought garnishing vegetables – mint
leaves, coriander, lemons, etc. – with one of the familiar vendors who was dislocated
and sitting on the floor. Interestingly, while I was buying it the vendor was busy fighting with another vendor for the floor space. This is another story that
the fragile mint leaves and corianders got spoiled totally by the time I reached
back home, past noon. It was solely out of my carelessness since I left that in
the car under the sun and hence got the due flak from the better half!
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| Main Entrance of Empress Market Karachi |
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| The Liberated Empress Market |
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| Police Reinforcement at the Site to Handle Protests Later in the Day |
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| This Side was Previously Invisible due to Illegally Built Market |
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| These Trees Can Breath Now |
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| Barely Survived to Tell the Sad Encroachment Story |
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| A Group of College Boys Found that a Photo Opportunity |
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| The Troika Looks So Powerful Now (Trees) - Note the Propping Steel Bars on the Rooftop |
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| A Legal Natural High Rise |
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| Relatively Cleaner Corner of the Empress Market Facing the Main Road |
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| The One at the Back was Occupied Illegally and Badly Abused |
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| Inside this there used to be Buffalo Meat-and-Other-Remains Market |
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The Butchered Buffalo Market
Clarification: Blood Stains are Mostly Likely Gutka Spittings |
|
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| The Recently Liberated Back Wall of Empress Market After Years of Abuse |
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| Inside the Empress Market Courtyard |
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| This (Late) Masala Store Used to Sell "Any" Spices by the Blessing of Almighty (Zoom in the Second Line) |
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| Another Illegal Structure Inside Empress Market Met the Same Fate |
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| Some Shops in the Inner Allays were Still Functional |
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| Center of the Empress Market Courtyard was also occupied (around the Last Standing Table). I Doubt They Poor People Could be this Influential |
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Visited the Abandoned Mandir Site Near Jahangir Park Again
There is a Halwa Poori Vendore Right Underneath |
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| Door of the Temple is Sealed |
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| We Tried Entering in the Mandir from the Next Door Neighbors which was a Business So Closed on Sunday |
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| This is the Closest I could Get from the Outside (No Zoom) |
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| Bohri Bazaar: Inside a Building which is now used by a Fancy Frame Shop |
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| Inside of a Bohri Bazar Residential Building First Floor which is No More Used |
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| Memon Masjid A Night Earlier We Wandered Around the Old City to see Eid Miladun Nabi Lighting |
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| Memon Masjid Minaret |
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| Near Gurumandir Roundabout |
Links of
previous walks:
City Walk 4: https://mozumbus.blogspot.com/2018/08/karachi-city-walk-independence-day-14th.html
Wonderful captures, Muzzammil. This would help me make 3d Building of Empress Market.
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