Karachi Bazaar
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Bazaars and shops abound in Karachi.
The main shopping area is the Zaib-un-Nisa street which is located one
10-15 minutes walk from all the major five-star hotels of Karachi. One popular
market with the tourists in this area is the Zainab Market. Leather &
onyx items, clothes and Pakistani handicrafts are some of the specialties of the
market. Inside we find dozen's of shop's, selling new copper's, Brass onyx,
inlaid woodwork, lacquer work, hand block printed cloth's and appliqué
bedspreads. Some shops sell excellent old embodied Sindhi cloth. Traditional
wedding dresses with mirror embroidery work, leather garments and old tribal
silver jewelry, Zainab market also sells good, extremely cheap cotton shirts,
and ready made shalwar kameez. Tariq road Bahadurabad and Clifton shopping areas
are few of the most posh and expensive shopping areas of the
city
Uzma Arcade at Clifton with Agha's
Supermarket and other shops is also a favorite shopping area with local and
foreign residents of Karachi. It will take the taxi about 15 minutes from the
major five-star hotels to reach here.
Empress Market
This huge, bustling Pakistani market is located in Saddar. It is essentially a food market and sells all manner of products from fruit and vegetables to fish, poultry and red meat as well as canned/tinned goods, house wares and spices. Shopping there is a real experience although, as the market is very large, it can be a little intimidating. We suggest that you make your first visit with a friend who shops there regularly.
Coolies (men who for a small fee will carry all your shopping) wait outside. Many people have a specific coolie whom they use on every visit. The meat halls can become unpleasant in the hot season. Many people therefore ask their coolie to bring their meat/fish order to them while they are shopping for vegetables etc., to save them having to enter the meat halls. Friends can recommend coolies who have regularly provided them with good meat. The spice hall is worth visiting (and photographing) with high cone shaped piles of the various spices. Dried fruits and nuts are always available in abundance and many of the small grocer stalls occasionally get imported goods which are not available in the Clifton shops. Remember, the meat halls close on meatless days although fish and chicken are still sold
Bohri Bazaar
Close to Empress market, this bazaar comprises hundreds of small shops in a maze of narrow streets which sell a whole variety of goods, ranging from house wares, pots and pans, crockery, cutlery, plastic items, silk flowers cottons, sheets, buttons, threads and all sewing requirements. On the main road is a shop which sells embroidery threads. As it is easy to get lost here, again we would suggest that you make your first visit with a friend who knows her way around. Do not forget to bargain. It is amazing what can be found in this bazaar including second hand designer label swimsuits
Zainab Market
This market is a real Aladdin’s cave. It sells mainly traditional Pakistani handicrafts and has a huge range of silk paintings, onyx, hangings, bedspreads, Kashmiri shawls, papier-mâché, etc. Remember that this is where a lot of tourists shop and the initial price quoted to you could be two or three times higher then the real price. Bargain hard. One part of this market also sells cheap ready made western clothes fir ladies, gents and children shorts, T shirts, leggings blouses, etc. Although the quality is often not high, they are cheap and suitable for the hot weather here
Co-operative Market
This market is slightly further down Abdullah Haroon Road from Zainab. Shops are located on two levels and they sell a variety of Pakistani wares, from onyx to brass, wood carvings, lower quality of other wooden items, men’s clothing material, shawls, etc. Like Zainab, this market caters to tourists. Be prepared to bargain
The Bazaars and malls of Karachi are among the sites which give it a unique identity. Karachi provides the shopper with exquisite quality products at very reasonable prices. So if you are an avid shopper or a bargain hunter Karachi is the place. Sadder is the central shopping area in Karachi, it is spread around and between the two main streets. Abdullah Haroon road and Zaib-un-Nisa Street, and is about 1 km from south to north. It is fun to spend a few hours wandering through alleyways, where Victorian brick architecture rub shoulders with modern concrete... it is all very lively and noisy with a great variety of shops in a succession of different bazaar's each specializing in its own commodity. Going north unto Abdullah Haroon road, you first come to Zainab Market on the right. Inside we find dozen's of shop's, selling new copper's, Brass onyx, inlaid woodwork, lacquer work, hand block printed cloth's and appliqué bedspreads. Some shops sell excellent old embodied Sindhi cloth. Traditional wedding dresses with mirror embroidery work, leather garments and old tribal silver jewelry, Zainab market also sells very good, extremely cheap cotton shirts, and ready made shalwar kameez. A little further up Abdullah Haroon Road are the carpets shops. They sell both, new Pakistani rugs and old tribal rugs, from Balochistan Afghanistan and Iran
Bohri bazaar is down the side lanes to the north of the carpet shops. It is the world with in itself. You walk down the narrow alleys ducking the cloth and clothing strung across for display. It is very photogenic
North again is the empress market, opened in 1889. This is the vast Victorian structure in Moghul Gothic style, with a clock tower, 50 meters high, housing hundred of shops and stalls. With in and around it are the meat and fish markets, fruit, and vegetable stalls. Section's of different Bazaar’s specializing in different handicrafts and good's
The atmosphere is very lively and noisy and is one of the pleasures for women Shopper's. Innumerable little shop's sell copper and brass merchandise, handmaid lacquer work's, hand blocked printed cloth appliqué bed spread's embroidered sindhi cloth, Rallies, traditional wedding dresses with mirror works, silver jewelry worn in various parts of Pakistan, cheap cotton shirt's and reedy made Shalwar Kameez.
Tariq road Bahadurabad and Clifton shopping areas are few of the most posh and expensive shopping areas of the city. Prices are here bit higher then a Bohri bazaar and other shopping areas
Pakistan is one of the biggest exporter's of hand woven carpet's which are available in Style and traditional touch the other main markets are M.A. Jinnah road, Ladies market in Karimabad, Nazimabad, and Empress Market in Sadder
Shopping in Karachi is a delight. Typical eastern bazaars such as Sarafa Bazaar with its gold and silver jewellery, colorful shops offering a wide variety of local goods and Zainab market where cotton tee - shirts, dresses and handicrafts are available. shops in the Saddar Cooperative Market have a wide collection of handicrafts made on onyx, wood and brass. Bargaining with the shopkeepers is necessary. Boutiques with leather goods and beautiful ready made clothes have fixed prices, still a fraction of what they would cost overseas. Bohri Bazaar is a colorful market where almost every thing is available. Other modern shopping centers are Clifton area, Zaib-un-Nisa Street, Abdullah Haroon Road and Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road. The typically eastern bazaars at Juna Market, Kharadar, Mithadar and Jodia Bazaar area are also worth a visit.
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