History

Gizri, (), a 250-year-old fishing village now part of Clifton and administered by the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC), has a rich cultural and historical legacy. Originally home to Brohi and Sindhi-speaking fisherfolk since 1760, the area has evolved into a neighborhood known for its intellectuals and scholars. The name "Gizri" is believed to have evolved from the

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

word "Guzz," meaning "courtyard." Many 19th-century buildings in Karachi were constructed using the renowned ''Gizri stone'' - a historical hallmark that endures. This distinctive stone, a

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, also widely used for

gravestones A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

, inspired the notion of a "Guzz" - a courtyard of stone.

Area's major ethnic groups

Like most areas in urban Karachi there are also several

ethnic groups An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...

living in Gizri including, Bravies,

Sindhis Sindhis are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group originating from and native to Sindh, a region of Pakistan, who share a common Sindhi culture, history, ancestry, and language. The historical homeland of Sindhis is bordered by southeastern Balochi ...

Punjabis The Punjabis (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Pañjābī) are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region, comprising areas of northwestern India and eastern Paki ...

Kashmiris Kashmiris () also known as Koshurs are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language and originating from the Kashmir Valley, which is today located in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union terr ...

Seraikis The Saraikis () are an Indo-Aryan community native to central Pakistan, unified by their use of the Saraiki language and a shared regional identity that transcends tribal and ethnic affiliations. Mostly inhabiting southern Punjab as well as mo ...

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...

, Baloch,

Memons The Memon are a Muslim community in Gujarat India, and Sindh, Pakistan, the majority of whom follow the Hanafi fiqh of Sunni Islam. They are divided into different groups based on their origins: Memons (Kathiawar), Kathiawari Memons, Kutchi Me ...

and

Gujaratis The Gujarati people, or Gujaratis, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who reside in or can trace their ancestry or heritage to a region of the Indian subcontinent primarily centered in the present-day western Indian state of Gujarat. They ...

Location within Karachi city

Gizri is located near the

Gizri Creek History Gizri, (), a 250-year-old fishing village now part of Clifton and administered by the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC), has a rich cultural and historical legacy. Originally home to Brohi and Sindhi-speaking fisherfolk since 1760, the ar ...

close to the famous Clifton Beach on the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

coast.

Gizri Flyover (also known as the Gizri Bypass)

Gizri Flyover (also known as the Gizri Bypass) was developed merely to connect the vehicular traffic of an upper-class residential area viz DHA Karachi to the rest of the city by flying over a low-income or ‘informal settlement’ viz Gizri that falls in between. Gizri Flyover was built so that DHA Karachi residents could ‘escape’ the traffic congestion in the Gizri Market area. Gizri Flyover length is 1.2 km, and was built for Rs 600 million in the year 2009.

References

External links

Neighbourhoods of Karachi {{Karachi-geo-stub