Brooklyn, N.Y.: Your trip sounds fascinating! I can't wait to read the book. How was it different from what you expected?

Maliha Masood: I appreciate your interest in my book. You'll enjoy it a lot I'm sure. The trip was different in terms of how much easier it was to negotiate the challenges of a women traveling solo. I had underestimated all the help and advice I'd be getting from the locals who became my guardian angels. The book is all about this and then some more...Thanks again.

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Bronx, N.Y.: You must get a lot of questions from people about traveling to the Middle East. Have any surprised you, and how have you responded?

Maliha Masood: Mostly they ask the usual stuff about safety. I have been suprised about the relative openness of folks still willing to travel in the Mideast at this time, given the heightened security all over the world and the regional conflicts that continue to escalate. I think people are starting to differentiate more and more between politics and people and that's a good thing especially among Muslim countries. You can't take anything for face value and the best is to go find your own truth and judge with your own eyes. I always encourage people to reach their own conclusions rather than rely on second hand info or the media to form their impressions. That's the whole reason I traveled. To find my own answers. My book doesn't have ready made answers. I don't think writers should be so ready to give answers. I try to ask more questions. Focusing on common ground rather than differences is one of my passions when it comes to Islam and the West.

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Maliha Masood: Well everyone. We're nearing the end of our online talk about Mideast travel and culture. I've enjoyed answering your questions and have been so impressed by your interest and curiosity about the region and your willingness to travel there. It's a very rich part of our world. I feel so fortunate to have experienced it and the reason I wrote about my travels in the Mideast is because my stories were too good to keep entirely to myself. I think you'll enjoy reading about the people I met and the crazy adventures that happen if you travel with trust and a whole lot of optimism. Be sure to check out my website, zaatardays.com. It was a pleasure chatting with you today and I wish you all the best of travels. Salaam, Maliha