I’m just back from Cape Town, where I was one of the first journalists to check in to the newly reimagined Cape Grace. A longtime Cape Town favorite, the hotel…
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Recent Work
For Virtuoso’s May/June issue, I spent some time in Dubai catching up on the latest intel. Read my guide here.
Condé Nast Traveler’s Hot List of the best new hotels and restaurants in the world is out, and I contributed one of the restaurant picks: Soul Kitchen in Dubai, a…
I checked in to some of Dubai’s hottest new hotels on a recent return to the city—and you can read about my impressions of the Lana, One & Only One…
The latest issue of Food & Wine includes the ambitious Global Tastemakers package, and I’m delighted to have been a part of the illustrious judging panel. I weighed in on…
Eid mubarak! As Ramadan comes to a close, I interviewed chefs and entrepreneurs across the country to see how they’re celebrating Eid al-Fitr this year. Read about it in Condé…
Few hotels have captured the global imagination the way Atlantis the Royal did when it opened with a splash last year, with a star-studded opening weekend headlined by a private…
Eid mubarak! I spoke with Citizen Femme about how I celebrate Eid when I’m in New York City. You can read it here, alongside anecdotes from a diverse group of…
I’ve been fortunate enough to see Syrian-American rapper/poet Omar Offendum perform twice, including his beautifully mounted Little Syria production, which returns to New York this summer. For Arab American Heritage…
Awards & Books
Awards
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2021: Honorable mention for the Grand Award, Travel Journalist of the Year
- South Asian Journalists Association, 2021: Outstanding Arts and Culture Reporting for “Zanzibar in the Rain,” New York Times
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2020: Bronze in Short Work on Travel for “Raise the Roof,” Condé Nast Traveler
- South Asian Journalists Association, 2019: Outstanding Arts, Culture, and Lifestyle Reporting about South Asia for “Force of Nature,” Surface magazine
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2018: Gold award in US/Canada Travel for “A Muslim American’s Homecoming: Cowboys, Country Music, Chapatis,” New York Times
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2018: Bronze in Service-Oriented Consumer Work for “My Town,” Virtuoso Life
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2017: Gold in Culinary-Related Travel for “Eating Bunny Chow in Durban,” Saveur
- South Asian Journalists Association, 2017: Outstanding Arts and Culture Reporting for “Eating Bunny Chow in Durban,” Saveur
- North American Travel Journalists Association Awards, 2016: Two Silver awards in Destination Travel and Adventure Travel for “7 Days, 1500 Miles in Namibia,” New York Times
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2016: Gold in Foreign Travel for “7 Days, 1500 Miles in Namibia,” New York Times
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2015: Gold in Personal Comment for “Returning to Hyderabad, Once a Land of Princes and Palaces,” New York Times
- Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing, 2013: Silver in Most Unforgettable Character for “Spitting Distance in Jodhpur,” Wall Street Journal
Books
- New York Times Cultured Traveler: Contributed a feature on Bosnia & Herzegovina to this upcoming anthology
- Best American Travel Writing 2021: “City of Saints” from Travel + Leisure was selected for the 2021 edition of this anthology, edited by Padma Lakshmi and Jason Wilson
- New York Times 36 Hours World: 150 Cities from Abu Dhabi to Zurich: Contributed 36 Hours guides to Johannesburg and Mumbai for this anthology
- My Life Abroad: A Selection of Expat Stories: Contributed to this compilation of expat stories from around the globe, recounting my experience as an American in South Africa, in the chapter “From New York City to Cape Town.”
- The Places We’ve Been: Field Reports from Travelers Under 35: Contributed my essay “When Coconuts Attack” to this travel anthology.