Karachi Photo Blog

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Sufi Martial Arts



Khalid Habib Khan is a Sifat Kilat instructor in Southern California.  Sifat Kilat (Sifat is nature, and Kilat means noor—light—in Malay) is where self-realization, meditation, and self-defense meet.  In this martial arts technique you learn to deal with attackers in a close combat situation.  Khalid Khan (Khalid H. Khan) told me he left California’s Silicon Valley in the 90s to learn martial arts in South East Asia.  Khan landed in Southern Philippines where he learned Serrada.  Later, he spent several years in Indonesia and Malaysia learning martial art techniques passed on by the Sufis.

An hour worth of exercises—mainly tapi-tapi (with and without knife)—Khalid Khan taught me, gave me confidence in my capabilities to defend myself in a street fight scenario.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Castillo de San Cristóbal

Tuesday, January 15, 2013


‘La Ghalib Illa Allah’ Alhambra replica tiles in Old San Juan, P.R.

Saturday, January 05, 2013



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Carnival Miracle docked at San Juan, as seen from Castillo de San Cristóbal

Thursday, January 03, 2013

Remembering Governor Salman Taseer


Remembering Governor Salman Taseer
Found this shameful poster on a wall in a commercial center in Karachi.  Most logical people will call Mumtaz Qadri, Prophet's insulter.  This poster is calling Qadri a hero.  How convoluted!

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Rethinking the Urban in Pakistan



Went to meet Dr. Shoaib Zaidi at the NED City Campus and ended up sitting in a lecture by Naiza H. Khan given under ‘Rethinking the Urban in Pakistan’ workshop.
The two-day workshop arranged at the City Campus of the NED University was organized by the American Institute of Pakistan Studies, NED’s Department of Architecture, UT Austin’s South Asia Institute, and the Habib University.


MARTA Five Points Station, Atlanta downtown