The old town of Karachi — centred on the original walled settlement in the Kharadar and Mithadar areas — is the oldest continuously inhabited part of the city, predating the British arrival by at least two centuries. The Talpur Mirs who ruled Sindh before the British conquest had a fort and a small trading town here, and it is from this nucleus that the modern city grew. The original walls are long gone, but the street pattern and the density of the neighbourhood preserve the logic of a pre-colonial bazaar town.
Walking through the old town is one of Karachi's more rewarding urban experiences: narrow covered alleys divide into spice markets, hardware dealers, and wholesale fabric traders in a geography that changes function block by block. The architecture includes surviving examples of the wooden carved-balcony style characteristic of Sindhi merchant houses, as well as several old temples and mosques. The area between Kharadar and Mithadar is most easily explored on foot or by cycle-rickshaw, starting from the Empress Market end and working westward toward the port. Early morning, before the traffic builds, is the most manageable time to walk.