photos > around Karachi 2011
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Bus and passengers
I love watching traffic in Karachi. Its dense, chaotic, colorful, and more than a little dangerous. For example, its not unsual to see 3 or 4 people on one motorcycle. One of my favorite things about the traffic is the intense decoration of the buses, trucks and rickshaws.
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Fruit stand
I stuffed myself full of guavas especially.
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Graffiti
Writing on the wall against American drone attacks...
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Imran Khan
One of the many Imran Khan banners around the city. Also in the scene is a KFC restaurant (it says "kay eff see" in Urdu).
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Bohri bazaar
A bazaar in downtown
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Window
My sister looking out the window into the courtyard of a Dawoodi Bohra mosque in Shabbirabad (a housing cooperative in Karachi).
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Jamaat khana
One of the social halls of the mosque.
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Scissors
The master tailor said this pair of scissors belonged to his grandfather. He still uses them, and they're better than any modern pair he has found. He gave me some scraps of cloth to cut... the scissors were oversized and much to heavy for my hands, but he used them with ease.
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Iron
Another of the tailor's tools from generations ago. He was making a very trendy looking suit for my cousin. Interesting contrast... this bearded tailor, in his ancient shop, using equipment that used to belong to his grandfather, making modern clothes that my cousin-- who is picky about his clothes and has some distinct hipster sensibilities-- wore to his sister's wedding.
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British building
Impressive and decaying British-era architecture is all over Karachi.
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Kemari
Karachi is a port city with lots of maritime activity, including shipping, crabbing, and fishing.
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my catch
Not very palatable...
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Gas station
A rickshaw that runs on compressed natural gas (CNG) waits for a fill up. Gas stations sell both CNG and petrol.
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gas tank
Most cars have been converted so they can run on natural gas. The extra gas tank is stored in the trunk... which means much of the city has a lot less trunk space than it used to!
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Cricket
Kids playing cricket on the streeet in the residential neighborhood of Shabbirabad.
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Juice
Pomegranate juice... freshly squeezed and so delicious.
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Mehndi
The winter is wedding season in Karachi. (I was there for my cousin's wedding). Here's my hand being decorated with henna (mehndi).
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entrance
The entrance to my cousin's wedding venue.
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Saddar
A typical street scene in Saddar (Karachi's busiest downtown commerical area).
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Mazar-e-Quaid
The shrine to Mohammed Ali Jinnah-- his grave is inside.
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Bike tour
At Quaid-e-Azam's mazaar, we met a small group holding a rally in order to launch a bike ride across Pakistan. Their plan was to ride from Karachi to Peshawar, in order to protest drugs in the country. They were very enthusiastic about including us in their rally... we made it seem like a larger group I think.
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Guard
Lots of soldiers stand guard at the Mazaar-e-Quaid. They were quite wililng to chat.
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Sindh sunrise
A view off the highway from Karachi to Lahore. It runs through small towns and bigger cities, but mostly farms.
