Gwadar Pakistan is the 100th largest city in Pakistan according to the 2017 census. It was an overseas possession of Oman from 1783 to 1958. It is about 120 km (75 mi) southwest of Turbat, while the sister port city of Chabahar in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province is about 170 km (110 mi) west of Gwadar.
City Gwadar Pakistan Location
Gwadar is a port city and the capital of South Balochistan, located on the southwestern coast of Balochistan, Pakistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea opposite Oman. Gwadar pakistan
Meaning of Gwadar
The word “Gwadar” is a combination of two Balochi words – guad means wind and dar means gate or door, thus Gwadar means “wind gate”. Gwadar pakistan
Gwadar Port
Gwadar Port is located on the Arabian Sea in Gwadar, Baluchistan Province, Pakistan, and is under the administrative control of the Minister of Maritime Affairs of Pakistan and the operational control of the China Overseas Port Holding Company.
The port features prominently in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) plan and is seen as a link between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Maritime Silk Road projects.
Gwadar’s potential to become a deep-sea port was first noted in 1954, when the city was still under Omani sovereignty. Plans to build the port were not realized until 2007, when the port was inaugurated by after four years of construction at a cost of $248 million.
Gwadar Port was officially commissioned on 14 November 2016
Gwadar Pakistan History
The settlement of Gwadar, like most areas of Balochistan, appears to be ancient. The area shows settlement already in the Bronze Age with settlements around some oases of the area. It is from this settlement pattern that the word Makran, the original name of Baluchistan, is derived. Gwadar pakistan
For a time it was a region of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. It is believed to have been conquered by the founder of the Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great. The capital of the satrapy of Gedrosia was Pura, which is believed to have been located near modern Bampūr in Baluchistan, Iran. Gwadar pakistan
During Alexander the Great’s march, his admiral Nearchus led a fleet along the present-day Makran coast and noted that the area was dry, mountainous, and inhabited by “Ichthyophagoi” (or “fish-eaters”), an ancient Greek rendering of the ancient Persian phrase “Mahi Khorana”, which itself became in the modern word “Makran”. Gwadar pakistan
After the collapse of Alexander’s empire, Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander’s generals, ruled the area. The area then came under Mauryan rule around 303 BC after Seleukos made peace with Emperor Chandragupta and ceded the territory to the Mauryans. Gwadar pakistan
The region remained on the sidelines of history for millennia until an Arab-Muslim army captured Makran in 643, and during the intervening (and almost equivalent) time, the region was invaded by various powers.
This was followed by nearly two centuries of local rule by various Baloch tribes. The Ottoman admiral Seydi Ali Reis visited the city in the 1650s and mentioned it in his book Mirat ul Memalik (Mirror of Lands), 1557. According to Seydi Ali Reis, the inhabitants of Gwadar were Baloch and their chief was Malik Jelaleddin, son of Malik Dinar. Gwadar pakistan
In the 15th century, the Portuguese conquered parts of India and Oman. They planned to proceed with the annexation of the coastal area of Makran.
They attacked Gwadar under the leadership of Vasco de Gama, but under the supervision of the commander Mir Ismaheel Baloch, the Portuguese were defeated by the Baloch. Several times the Portuguese looted and set fire to the coastal villages, but failed to capture Gwadar. Gwadar pakistan
Portuguese army cannons were found lying near Gwadar Central Jail. The tomb of Mir Ismaheel Baloch is located near the Batal Gwadar mountain, which was built by Mir Ismaheel Baloch himself during his lifetime. Gwadar pakistan
He died in 873 Hijri, without an heir. By the end of the 16th century, the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great conquered the city along with all of Baluchistan after the Battle of Sehwan. It remained under Mughal control until the early 18th century. Gwadar pakistan
In 1783, Khan of Kalat Mir Noori Naseer Khan Baloch granted sovereignty over Gwadar to Taimur Sultan, the defeated ruler of Muscat. When the Sultan subsequently recaptured Muscat, he was to continue his rule in Gwadar by appointing a wali (or “governor”). Gwadar pakistan
This wali was then ordered to subjugate the nearby coastal city of Chabahar (now in Iran). Gwadar Fort was built during the rule of Oman. In the mid-18th century, Mir Noori Naseer Khan Baloch conquered Gwadar and its surrounding areas after defeating the Gichki Baloch tribe and incorporating them into Kalat.
Khanate. However, realizing that maintaining control over the area would be difficult without the support of the Gichkis, Mir Nasir made an agreement with the local Gichki chief that allowed the Gichkis to maintain administrative control over the area in return for giving half of the collected revenue to Kalat, an arrangement that continued until 1783.
When the Saiad Sultan broke with his brother, the ruler of Muscat, and asked for help, Mir Noori Naseer Khan handed over Gwadar, as part of his share of the revenue, to the Saiad Sultan for his maintenance, with the understanding that the area would be returned to Kalat when the Saiad Sultan obtained the throne.
Saiad Sultan ascended the throne of Muscat in 1797 but never returned from the Gwadar enclave to Kalat. The ensuing struggle between the Sultan’s heirs and the Khan of Kalat over the ownership of Gwadar allowed the British to intervene. Telegraph lines were later extended to the city courtesy of the British.
The British, after obtaining concessions from the Sultan for the use of the area, allowed Muscat to retain Gwadar. Later, the British claimed that the area was granted to Sultan Mir Nasir, however local accounts and declassified documents of the time dispute this claim.
From 1863 to 1879, Gwadar was the headquarters of the British Assistant Political Agent. Gwadar was a fortnightly port for steamers of the British India Steamship Navigation Company and included a combined Post & Telegraph Office.
Gwadar became part of Pakistan through negotiations led by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Feroz Khan Noon and his wife Viqar-un-Nisa Noon with the Sultan of Oman. The Sultan of Oman agreed to hand over Gwadar to Pakistan for Rs 5.5 billion, which was mostly paid by Aga Khan IV.
Gwadar is located on the southwestern coast of the Arabian Sea in Pakistan in the Gwadar District of Balochistan Province. Like Ormara further east, Gwadar is situated on a natural hammer-shaped tombolo peninsula formed by two near-perfect but naturally curved semicircular bays on either side.
The city is located on a narrow and sandy isthmus 12 km (7 mi) long that connects the Pakistani coast to the rocky outcrops in the Arabian Sea known as the Gwadar Promontory or Koh-e-Batil, which reach an altitude of 150 m (480 ft) and extend with 11 km (7 mi) from east to west by 1.5 km (1 mi) wide.
The 240 m (800 ft) wide isthmus on which Gwadar is situated separates two almost perfect semi-circular bays from each other. The western bay is known as Paddi Zirr and is generally shallow with an average depth of 3.7 m (12 ft) and a maximum depth of 9.1 m (30 ft). To the east of the isthmus is the Demi Zirr deep sea port where the Gwadar port was built.
Gawadar Weather
Gwadar has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) characterized by little rainfall and large differences between summer and winter temperatures. The oceanic influence of cold Arabian Sea currents moderates temperatures, resulting in significantly cooler summer temperatures compared to inland areas and Gulf cities such as Dubai.
The Arabian Sea also moderates winter temperatures, resulting in warmer winter nights compared to inland areas.
