Pakistan has glorious bazaars, selling gold and silver jewelry,
glass bracelets, hand embroidered shawls, silk and brocades. Pakistan is
one of the biggest exporters of hand woven carpets available in all style.
Tourists can export jewelry or precious stones (other than gold) of value
up to Rs 10,000 and that of gold up to Rs 2000.
In Karachi, Saddar
is the central shopping area spread around and between Victoria
Road and Elphinstone street, the two mains streets. It is all very lively
and noisy, with great variety of shops in a succession of different specialized
bazaars. Zainab Market : dozens of shops selling
copper and brass, onyx, inlaid woodwork, lacquer work, hand block printed
cloth and bedspreads. Bohri Bazar is a whole
world in itself, with narrow alleys across the cloth for display. The
Empress Market opened in 1889 is a vast Victorian structure with
a clock tower 50 meter high, housing hundreds of shops and stalls.
In Lahore go to
the Anarkali Bazaar but the best places are
markets devoted to special crafts such as jewelry and handicrafts. New
market places have sprung up in Gulberg and other residential area where
you can find interesting, quite uncommon items.
Islamabad has excellent
market places such as Jinnah Super Market,
Covered Market, Aabpara
Market. Go also to Rawalpindi, about
12 Km from Islamabad, you will find interesting oriental bazaars.
