Manora, Karachi

Manora and neighboring islands form a protective barrier between Karachi Harbour to the north and the Arabian Sea to the south. The western bay of the harbor contains mangrove forests which border the Sandspit and Manora island. The coastline is also home to the Peelu tree (Salvadora persica) that protects Manora's coast from erosion.{{Cite web|date=2020-08-09|title=Peelu trees — a natural shield against storms and the sea|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/2258785/peelu-trees-a-natural-shield-against-storms-and-the-sea|access-date=2021-05-02|website=The Express Tribune|language=en}}

The area of Karachi was known to the ancient Greeks. Nearchus, who commanded Alexander the Great's naval fleet, mentioned a hilly island by the name of Morontobara and an adjacent flat island named Bibakta, which colonial historians identified as Karachi's Manora Point and Kiamari (or Clifton), respectively, based on Greek descriptions.{{cite book|last=Vincent|first=William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S5deAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA180|title=The Voyage of Nearchus from the Indus to the Euphrates, Collected from the Original Journal Preserved by Arrian ...: Containing an Account of the First Navigation Attempted by Europeans in the Indian Ocean|publisher=T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies|year=1797|page=180|author-link=William Vincent (priest)}}{{Cite book|last=Houtsma|first=M. Th|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7CP7fYghBFQC&pg=PA729|title=E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936|date=1993|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-09790-2|language=en}}{{Cite book|last=Lambrick|first=H. T.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lFFJAAAAIAAJ&q=bibakta|title=Sind: A General Introduction|date=1975|publisher=Sindhi Adabi Board|isbn=9780195772203|language=en}} Both areas were islands until well into the colonial era, when silting in led to them being connected to the mainland.{{Cite book|last=Pithawalla|first=Maneck B.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rlrlBTOs2jUC&q=manora+island+silting|title=An Introduction to Karachi: Its Environs and Hinterland|date=1950|publisher=Times Press|language=en}}

According to the British historian Eliot, parts of the city of Karachi and the island of Manora at port of Karachi constituted the city of Debal. Manora was mentioned by the Ottoman admiral, Seydi Ali Reis, in his 1554 book Mir'ât ül Memâlik.

Manora Fort was built by the Talpur dynasty in 1797 in order to protect the port,{{Cite book|last=Murray (publishers.)|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vg0IAAAAQAAJ&dq=manora+fort+1797&pg=PA475|title=A handbook for India. Part ii. Bombay|date=1859|language=en}} which handled trade with Oman and Bahrain.{{cite web|title=Qasim Fort – The Flawless Complex|url=https://www.sindhidunya.com/qasim-fort-the-flawless-complex/|website=www.sindhidunya.com|accessdate=30 August 2018|archive-date=30 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830174151/https://www.sindhidunya.com/qasim-fort-the-flawless-complex/|url-status=usurped}}{{cite web|title=Qasim Fort also known as Manora Fort|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/pakistan/pns-qasim.htm|website=www.globalsecurity.org|accessdate=30 August 2018}} The fort was used to repel attacks by Qasimi pirates who threatened and sometimes raided Karachi Harbor in the early 19th century.{{Cite book|last=Davies|first=Charles E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tGboFK2QPUwC&dq=manora+fort+1797&pg=PA162|title=The Blood-red Arab Flag: An Investigation Into Qasimi Piracy, 1797-1820|date=1997|publisher=University of Exeter Press|isbn=978-0-85989-509-5|language=en}} Accounts of piracy have been contested, and piracy may have been simply used as a casus belli for the East India Company to seize control of the Persian Gulf region.{{Cite book|first=Sulṭān |last=ibn Muḥammad al-Qāsimī|title=The myth of Arab piracy in the Gulf|date=1986|publisher=Croom Helm|isbn=0709921063|location=London|oclc=12583612}}

On 1 February 1839, a British ship, HMS Wellesley (1815), anchored off the island of Manora. On 3 February, the ship opened fire on the fort.{{Cite book|last=Murray (publishers.)|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vg0IAAAAQAAJ&dq=manora+fort+1797&pg=PA475|title=A handbook for India. Part ii. Bombay|date=1859|language=en}} When British troops stormed the fort, they reportedly found it guarded by four or five men who had no guns to fire back with, and so the fort quickly surrendered{{cite web|title=Qasim Fort – The Flawless Complex|url=https://www.sindhidunya.com/qasim-fort-the-flawless-complex/|website=www.sindhidunya.com|accessdate=30 August 2018|archive-date=30 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830174151/https://www.sindhidunya.com/qasim-fort-the-flawless-complex/|url-status=usurped}} and Karachi captured. St. Paul's church was built in the immediate vicinity of Manora Fort in 1865.{{Cite book|last1=Murray (Firm)|first1=John|url=https://archive.org/details/handbookbombayp00eastgoog|title=Handbook of the Bombay Presidency: With an Account of Bombay City|last2=Eastwick|first2=Edward Backhouse|date=1881|publisher=John Murray|page=[https://archive.org/details/handbookbombayp00eastgoog/page/n354 385]|language=en}} In 1888, the old fort was mostly removed, and the battery reinforced.{{Cite book|last=Baillie|first=Alexander Francis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7tIwAQAAMAAJ&dq=manora+fort+1797&pg=PA61|title=Kurrachee: (Karachi) Past, Present and Future|date=1890|publisher=Thacker, Spink|language=en}} The Manora Point Lighthouse was designed by Canadian engineer Alain-Chartier-de-Lotbiniere Joly de Lotbinière,The Royal Engineers Journal, September 1944 and completed in 1889 to assist vessels approaching Karachi harbor.

After Pakistan's independence from Britain, the island of Manora was selected as a main base of the Pakistan Navy, with berths for naval vessels located along the eastern edge of the island, and has been governed as a military cantonment. The opening of the new Jinnah Naval Base at Ormara, 250 kilometers away, has meant that approximately half of the naval vessels have moved away from Manora.[https://www.dawn.com/news/859028 Artfiend: Reclaiming Manora] Dawn (newspaper), Published 14 March 2010, Retrieved 14 August 2020

Manora's long sandy beaches, which merge into the beaches of the Sandspit and then extend several kilometers to the beaches at Hawkesbay, are a popular destination for Karachi residents. At the southeastern end of Manora island is the Manora Point Lighthouse. With a tower {{convert|38|m|ft}} high, it is one of the tallest in Pakistan.{{cite rowlett|pak|accessdate=24 July 2020}} Keeping in view the daily turnover of tourists and travelers, Government of Sindh has upgraded the infrastructure of the island (through construction of driveways, restaurants, hotel accommodations, a golf course, a kids’ play area, etc.) and equipped it with modern features (recreational facilities and watersports activities) at a cost of 650 million rupees. The latest Manora Beach Resort was finally inaugurated by Murad Ali Shah (Chief Minister of Sindh) in October 2021.{{cite news | url = https://www.zameen.com/blog/manora-beach-karachi.html | title = A Trip to the All-new Manora Beach Resort | publisher = ZAMEEN.Com |date = 15 October 2021}}

Manora Beach Road, connecting Manora to Kakapir across Sandspit, was upgraded in 2020.{{Cite web|date=2020-09-27|title=Murad inaugurates Manora beach road|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1581802|access-date=2021-05-02|website=DAWN.COM|language=en}} KPT is planning to link Manoro island with a harbour-crossing bridge which will connect the west and east wharfs of KPT. This bridge will reduce the difference between Manora and the areas of Defence and Clifton by almost 30 km.{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1310312 |author=Hasan Mansoor|newspaper=Dawn|date=24 January 2017 |title=Rs 219m bridge connecting city with Manora opened|access-date=14 August 2020}}{{Cite web|date=2011-02-28|title=Plans for harbour crossing bridge|url=https://www.dawn.com/2011/02/28/plans-for-harbour-crossing-bridge/|access-date=2020-10-02|website=Dawn|language=en}}

There are several ethnic groups in Manora Island including Sindhis, Punjabis, Kashmiris, Seraikis, Pakhtuns, Balochis, Brahuis, Memons, and Bohris.

File:Lighthouse, Manora-4.JPG |Manora harbour- view from lighthouse

File:Manora Beach, Karachi Pakistan.jpg|Manora Fort

File:Lighthouse, Manora-3.JPG |Manora beach- view from lighthouse

File:Manora Beach 1100641.jpg|Manora beach

File:Manora karachi 2.jpg|Manora cliffs

File:PK Manora near Karachi asv2020-02 img3.jpg|St Pauls Church

File:Shri Varun Dev Mandir Manora Karachi.jpg|Varun Dev Temple

File:Mandir tower.JPG |Varun Dev Temple

File:Karachi map 1911.jpg |Map from 1911

• List of lighthouses in Pakistan
• Manora Cantonment
• Manora Fort, Karachi
• Pakistan Naval Academy
• List of islands of Pakistan

{{Reflist}}

• Karachi-Wikioyage
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050712081624/http://www.epb.gov.pk/epb/jsp/country_khi_main.jsp Pakistan Export Promotion Bureau mention of Manora]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311003217/http://www.lighthousedepot.com/database/uniquelighthouse.cfm?value=2239 Lighthouse Depot listing of Manora]

{{Neighborhoods of Karachi}}

{{Karachi topics}}

{{Islands of Pakistan}}

{{Authority control}}

Sindh

Category:Beaches of Karachi

Category:Neighbourhoods of Karachi

Category:Peninsulas of Pakistan

Category:Pakistan Navy bases

Category:Lighthouses in Pakistan