Are you planning your first visit to the metropolitan city? Besides getting to know about other things that are required before visiting a new city such as where to stay, where to eat, availability of public transport, etc; another major aspect of knowing a city is to have information about its shopping places.
Karachi has all sorts of shopping centres from modern style luxurious shopping malls to traditional bazaars — you can choose according to your purchasing power. The famous malls in Karachi are ParkTower, Dolmen Mall, The Forum, Gulf Way, Hong Kong Shopping Mall, Millennium Mall, Rabi Centre, Madina City Mall, Dubai Shopping Mall, Lavish Mall, Jumeirah Mall, Atrium Mall and many more. Besides malls, Makro is a wholesale shopping place — ideal for those who are willing to have purchases in bulk — Makro offers all products needed for life!
Now come to the traditional bazaars of Karachi — Boulten Market, Saddar, Bohri Bazaar, Tariq Road, Meena Bazaar, Empress Market, Urdu Bazaar, Soldier Bazaar and Sabzi Mandi — all these markets cater to all requirements of everyday life. From loose clothes to readymade garments, footwear, jewellery, accessories, electronic goods, home appliances, office products, grocery, meat (chicken, lamb, beef) and what not! The traditional bazaars of the business hub of Pakistan can meet all your needs at reasonable prices; although this is not true for the luxurious malls! Beware while shopping in the attractive malls as the shopkeepers there, charge not only for the product but also for the beautiful and air-conditioned mall’s building and the eye-catching interior of the shop.
In addition to these, the options are not yet finished and you have Sarafa Bazaar that is ideal to buy gold and silver jewellery. Another market is Zainab Market that should be your ultimate choice while shopping for garments.
The superstores such as Awami Markam, Naheed, Dmart and ARY Cash and Carry also offer wide variety of products but of course, the price range exceeds due to the good service provided here.
The middle class and lower middle class areas of Karachi too have local bazaars that offer almost all sorts of products. Babar Market in Landhi, Korangi markets (at Korangi no. 6 and 2), K-Area Market at Korangi no. 5, Korangi Crossing Market, Drigh Road Market; Liaquat Market, Imam Bux Market, Abbasi Market in Malir and Gizri Market are only some of the many local markets besides big bazaars and malls that offer all products of daily use.
So if you are planning to visit Karachi this summer vacation, make your shopping wish-list and a schedule to give a visit to all famous bazaars of Karachi.
