What is Karez

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And the servants of the All-Merciful are those that walk in the earth modestly and who when the ignorant address them, say, 'peace'; Who when they spend are neither prodigal, nor stingy, nor slay the soul God has forbidden, neither fornicate. Quran 25:63-5.

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What is a Karez

The Balochistan Province is in the western half of Pakistan. This province is rugged, and it's elevation is much higher than the rest of Pakistan; the area is referred to as the Balochistan Plateau. This area is also very dry. Thus, its inhabitants have, for centuries, used a unique way of gathering water.

The method is called karez. In this method, underground tunnels are constructed to gather subsoil water, through gravitational pull, at the foot of hills. This water is then either taken to the fields and villages through vertical shafts which are sunk underground, or it is drawn out at the foot of the hill where it has been gathered.

Inhabitants of Balochistan may not mean this exact definition when they use the term Karez. People of an area know the natural water ways which flow just below the sandy surfaces of the valleys of Baluchistan. Some time they appear on surface by themselves and sometime those who know them dig them out for usage. At places where this water is seeping in as a natural spring they put some sort of pound around it. All of this natural phenomena is also called karez by the inhabitants of Balochistan.

(Reference: Britannica.com)

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/17/2002 4:34:35 PM