Today, I feel proud in sharing yet another special attribute of my beloved city, the skillful art of boat building.
To this day, Karachi has a busy port known as 'Kemari' and still to this day boats are made in the traditional way, which is by hand. Before 2008 I used to frequently visit this place because of my work, as I was in sales then, and I used to see these artisans working on the huge wooden boats. I was told that cost of making such boats range well beyond 1.5 to 2 million rupees. Not only local but foreign customers from Iran and Oman also bring their boats here for repairs. These artisans also get orders for new boats from these countries. Fishermen go as far as South Africa on these boats for stretch of 6 months.
The city of Karachi is unique in many aspects, it was small and unknown coastal city in the past known as 'KOLACHI'. During the British reign, it was given importance due to it's location and it was then detached from the rule of local rulers for whom this place was far from their citadel. It was community of fishermen who were it's earlier settlers and the boats used to sail in the Arabian Sea all the way to Oman.
To this day, Karachi has a busy port known as 'Kemari' and still to this day boats are made in the traditional way, which is by hand. Before 2008 I used to frequently visit this place because of my work, as I was in sales then, and I used to see these artisans working on the huge wooden boats. I was told that cost of making such boats range well beyond 1.5 to 2 million rupees. Not only local but foreign customers from Iran and Oman also bring their boats here for repairs. These artisans also get orders for new boats from these countries. Fishermen go as far as South Africa on these boats for stretch of 6 months.
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