For most countries of the world, Banbhore, the ruins of the ancient port city of Debal, would have been an archeological treasure and a great tourist spot. But due to the sheer negligence of our federal and provincial governments, rarely anyone visits this amazing city of the past, where the Tourism Department has not even bothered to make suitable arrangements for tourists.
The ruins are located 64 kilometres from Karachi, just two kilometres on the right side of the main Thatta-bound National Highway and around 46 kilometres away from the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.
The city was located just on the eastern bank of might Indus River at the present-day Gharo Creek, where the Indus meets the Arabian Sea.
Rarely any tourist visits these ruins of the ancient city that has a rich historical background. Even though, the government charges a fee from visitors, there are no facilities available for them including drinking water and toilets.
A dilapidated and filthy sitting shed awaits tourists and no official guide is available to inform them about the city’s history.
As the ruins are away from the main market, tourists would find no place to buy soft drinks or food items at the site. The government has not even properly maintained the site, causing damage to the excavated city.
The exaction work at the site was started in 1958. After Archeologists and experts found that it was a well-planned city with houses of bricks, a main bazaar and quarters for artisans and labourers,.
A brick-made well, pavements and separate colonies for the people of different classes were also discovered.
Archaeologists also found painted pottery, coins, armours, swords, vessels and a manjnik (catapult), which was brought by the Arabs to fight with the Hindu king of the city, Raja Dahir.
They also found jewellery, earthen pots, toys and other pieces of art.
Ruins of an industrial zone, a school, temple and a mosque were also discovered. It is believed that this mosque was the first in Asia built by the conquering Arabs.
Our biased bureaucracy has never highlighted the history of Bhanbore, which was the only port in the region, long before Arab general Muhammad Bin Qasim attacked the city.
The city is also associated with Sassui, the famous character of the Sussui-Punnhu love story. In modern Sindh, any woman who falls in love is killed under in the name of honour, but the famous Sindhi language Sufi poet, Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai admired Sassui in his poetry.
In Bhittai’s works, Sassui was one of the seven queens of the popular tragic romantic stories –Marvi, Momal, Sohni, Laila, Sorath and Noori being the others.
According to folk lore, Sassui was the daughter of the king of Bhanbore and astrologers predicted that she was a curse for the kingdom, bringing bad name to her father.
The king ordered to have the child placed in a wooden box and thrown in the Indus River. A dhobi found the box and adopted her as his daughter.
When she grew up, she became beautiful and her beauty became famous. The prince of Makran – Punnhu travelled to Bhanbore to see her.
The prince married the girl, but his royal family did not accept a dhobi’s daughter and decided to take him while he was asleep.
When Punnhu’s brothers took him away, Sassui followed them through the mountains of Balochistan.
Bhittai described the sufferings of her journey in his work.
There was also a huge natural lake just beside the city, but since the Indus River changed its course away, the lake dried up and government authorities have not taken any steps to restore it. If the Sindh government decides to develop the site into a tourist spot, it would pave way for income generation opportunities for the locals and the soft image of the country would also be revived through the Sindhi culture and history.
