Event

Zaatar Days, Henna Nights

Join YPIN and author Maliha Masood for an inspiring conversation about travel, exploration, and culture. After years of working behind a desk, Seattle dotcommer Maliha Masood was desperate for a change of scene. She submitted her letter of resignation and bought a one way ticket to Paris. After traveling around Europe for six months, Masood was still restless for adventure and felt herself drawn to the Middle East. She arrived in Cairo at the height of Israeli/Palestinian tension in September 2000.

Fueled by curiosity and unbridled wanderlust, Pakistani-born Masood ventured on a year-long overland expedition through Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. Her book, Zaatar Days, Henna Nights: Adventures, Dreams and Destinations across the Middle East, (Seal Press/February 2007) offers a street savvy take on the contemporary Arab world seldom seen on the evening news. From Sufi mystics to cross dressing couples, desert treks to Kurdish weddings, Masood paints a vivid portrait of the hearts and minds debate as someone who belongs on both sides. This is a story of discovery and faith, of making bonds and breaking stereotypes, and of finding oneself where one least expects.

For more information about the speaker, visit www.world-affairs.org.