Thatta: a capital, a mosque and the largest necropolis on earth

A short history

The Samma dynasty took Thatta and made it their capital from 1351. The Arghuns and Tarkhans followed in the 1520s when Shah Beg defeated the Samma ruler Jam Feroz. From 1592, under Akbar, it was governed by the Mughals.

Shah Jahan gave the city its mosque in 1647, though construction carried on until 1659. It carries the most elaborate tilework in South Asia, with clear Timurid influence.

The decline was geographic rather than political. The Indus silted and shifted eastward through the 1600s, and Thatta stopped being a seaport. The population went from something like 200,000 at its height to around 20,000 by the early nineteenth century.

Places worth your time

Makli Necropolis

A UNESCO World Heritage Site covering several square kilometres, with monumental tombs from the fourteenth to eighteenth centuries. It is among the largest cemeteries in the world. Take a guide — unguided it is simply a very large field of stone.

Shah Jahan Mosque

Finished 1659, and covered in blue and turquoise tile. Ninety-three domes, and the reason everybody stops.

Keenjhar Lake

North of the town, and one of the largest freshwater lakes in the country. A common weekend trip from Karachi.

Before you go

November to February. About two hours from Karachi, and it pairs naturally with Keenjhar Lake or Hyderabad. Makli needs two hours minimum.