Zaatar Days, Henna Nights

When: Back to Calendar » August 26, 2012 @ 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Where: Trophy Cupcakes
1815 N 45th St
Seattle,WA 98103
USA
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Cost: $10.00 students/members; $15.00 non-members
YPIN
Registration: Register

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.

About the author:

Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Maliha Masood moved to the States at the age of twelve and grew up in Seattle. Fluent in her native Urdu and French, she studied International Business at the University of Washington and worked as a research analyst in the IT sector for ten years. An award winning writer in creative nonfiction, Maliha’s essays and commentaries have been featured in numerous anthologies including Best Travel Writing by Women for 2011 and The Veil: Women Writers on its History, Lore and Politics. Maliha also appeared in and co-produced the PBS-aired documentary, Nazrah, a searing look at gender, politics, and Islam.  An avid public speaker, Maliha is the founder and president of Diwaan, a Seattle-based cultural institute addressing global affairs. She earned her Master’s in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and worked in Pakistan at the International Crisis Group and the Human Rights Commission before moving back to the Pacific Northwest. Her present adventure is motherhood and journeying to parks and playgrounds with her four year old son.

 

The event will take place in the event space at Trophy Cupcakes in Wallingford, a cozy, intimate space which will lend itself well to great conversations and the opportunity to meet fellow travel enthusiasts. Books will be on sale at the event (not included in ticket price) and the author, Maliha, will be on hand for book signing.

 

Learn more about Maliha Masood here:  http://zaatardays.weebly.com/index.html

 

YPIN would like to thank Trophy Cupcakes for sponsoring this event.