Welcome! My name is Nadia. My husband and I are both expatriates in the United Arab Emirates. No, Dubai is not its capital city. I was born and raised in Karachi, a city that I will always love despite its flaws, and later moved to the Philippines to attend university. In November 2006, I finally made peace with India by marrying one of her very responsible and brilliant citizen. Due to visa and logistics issues, the wedding took place in the U.A.E.
I started blogging at The Purple Journal in mid 2008 before moving to my own domain here in February 2011. The idea of blogging began when I returned from my very first trip to India. I came home with tons of stories, memories, and photographs that I knew I had to share.
What’s this blog about?
Travel, food and photography, the halal type. This means my travel stories do not include getting drunk, skimpy clothing, or gambling. So far I’ve covered the U.A.E. (of course), Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, and India. You can click on the “Travels” tab that’s sitting right below the blog header, and browse through the travel posts. I also have a few recipes up on the “Food” section that contains links to recipes that turned out great and have become favorites. Oh, then there’s the “Reviews” section, where I try to write about the hotels that we’ve stayed in and the restaurants we’ve dined at.
Who is Masood? I see him mentioned in almost every post.
He’s the boss. The guy who finances my food, trips, photography equipment, and this blog. He also keeps me happy and safe.
What photography equipment do you use?
- Nikon point & shoot — Amazing landscape pictures. A lot of noise in low-light settings. Takes decent video, has a projector, and is very slim.
- Nikon D40 — My first and only digital SLR camera. I love it to bits.
- iPhone — Extremely useful to take a quick (or discreet) photograph. It belongs to Masood.
- An unbranded, lightweight tripod.
- A 70-300 mm zoom lens — Borrowed from my sister, Sophia, every now and then.
What editing software(s) do you use?
- Picasa 3 –
I use this the most.Makes organization of photographs easy. - Photoscape - I use this the most.
- gimp – I have this but don’t remember ever using it.
Still have a question or two, a proposal to review your product or business, advertising, or perhaps to simply drop a line to say hi?
You can either leave a message on the contact page or drop me an e-mail at:
admin@nadiamasood.com
Have a nice day!
assalamu alaykum, thank u for your beautiful comments on my blog. It seems also we have some things in common
Take care my sis.
Walaikum Assalam. You are on my blog roll now so that I can visit you more often
Very best of luck to you. I hope this blogging experience is as therapeutic for you as it has been for me already. We both seem to be seeking the same results of inner-peace and fulfillment through our writing. Thank you for your comment on my blog. I appreciate it. And I look forward to reading more from you!
Mary
Salams dearest,
i’ve just read through your blog and i find it quite interesting! and i must say you have been blessed with a good mate mashallah. i pray allah grant your duahs inshallah..
thank you for your comment, its nice to be reminded that its all in allah’s hands…we can only wait and pray patiently.
god bless!
Mary, thank you! It hasn’t been a month yet since I’ve started blogging, but the experience has indeed been therapeutic. Do visit me again soon
Best of luck to you too.
Walaikum Assalam.
Pucca, thank you for dropping by, and specially for the duah. I really appreciate it.
God bless you too.
salaam nadia,
thanx for stopping by mine. such a sweet advice you gave. and you have a nice blog here. keep writing!
Hey, I decided to look your blog as well
and I really liked it.
So, you r also looking to reduce 16 lbs till Sep ’08? Me too!! How about we share advices/stuff like that? I am real need of someone to motivate me!
Sure, would love to have a weight loss buddy!
Nice blog!
Hi – I have web pages and a blog attached to it for your comments – I write about social issues I hear about and other stuff – lots going on in there – Inviting you all over – Do visit me as well!
nadeen.ahmed83.googlepages.com
Thanks, Nadeen!
Pucca’s comment musta sounded rather odd and random eh…so sorry dear, i was reading your blog and musta signed in with my other account when i left that comment.
anyways, dearest…basra and pucca are one and the same.
No problem at all. Both Pucca and Basra are welcome here
Nice to meet you
Salaam ,
Nice blog , and nice to meet you
With Best Regards
Eng. Hasan Al-Bahkali
~ Walaikum Assalam, Eng. Al-Bahkali. Thank you for stopping by. Have a nice day!
Yours’ is an interesting blog indeed with posts on diverse subjects. Nice work.
~ Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
Nice weblog. Very enthusiastic..
charm!
Eerv
~ Thanks, Eerv! Glad you stopped by
Should I say your blog’s header is awesome!
i liked the posts related to ur travels…
hey. i got here through specs. loved the blog name and had to check it out!!
Assalamualaikum,
Figured I got your link from Umm Travis, read a couple of your entries and I’m hooked. LoL~! Insha’Allah, will be stopping by more often in future.
Assalamualikum Nadia,
Masha Allah nice blog. Insha Allah will keep visiting often.
Though I doubt you remember me from oh so long ago… But I look forward to reading and catching up. In about 5 days. x_x
Despite the fact that i am very comment-shy i just have to say this- i think your blog is very original and i love the pictures you take. Another thing i couldn’t get enough of is the way you documented your trip to Saudi it was refreshing to see it through someone else’s eyes.
As’salamu Aleikum
Very nice blog. Masha’Allah
As Salaam Alaikum,
Nadia,
Thanks for your visit to Risk Rap.
I wish you a blessed Ramadan.
Peace and prayers,
jbm
now that is some gift a husband could give outta love
surely i m envious but pleased to hear
OMG my name is Nadia too! And I love your site.
I like your blog
I visited your blog some time last year perhaps while searching some thing about UAE. I just loved it as a great information resource about UAE.
Today I saw this blog in my bookmarks and so visited it once again. I really like this blog, I must say
Ahmed Irfan, thank you and welcome to The Purple Journal
Mashallah this is a very nice blog! keep it going sister.
Wassalam
JazakAllah khair, Aufidius. Welcome to the blog!
Oh the theme of the blog is changed again…
Isn’t it a bit too early?
I loved the City name tabs in the previous template. How shall I access those posts now?
Ahmed Irfan, I changed the theme again just last night. I really had to. The sea green color started to get on my nerves. But I really liked the layout that came with that theme.
You can still access the city names under the “Places” dropdown, which is just after the “Recent Posts” list on the right of the blog.
Okay, so now I’ve moved the “Places” on top of the “Recent Posts”
O thanks indeed…
Once again – your umrah posts are so awesome. mashaAllah.. you were referring to your mother-in-law as mom yes?
Welcome to the blog, Faheem! I’m glad you liked the Umrah posts, thank you. Yes, I was referring to my mother-in-law
Thanks for the comments on my page.
I don’t get a chance to read many other blogs as im doing this through a mobile connection, but reading yours has been really interesting.
Welcome to the blog, Gillank!
First of all, we both use the same theme (well, forget about the self-hosted wordpress blogs that I own). But here I see you’ve decorated and designed your blog in a much sweeter way. I especially loved the header.
I expected something more from the about page, such as who you are, where you live in, what you do etc.
Anyway, I think you’re blogging pretty well. I love blogging, too. But the problem is I love blogging in English while my native language (and also mother tongue) is Bangla. So, I feel limited while trying to write in English. I can’t stop blogging in English cause without this language I cannot reach a global audience. Whatever, I liked your blog and hopefully I will be coming back.
Please don’t forget to keep visiting my blog and comment on any post you like. (If you’re a technology-lover, you might like to try out this blog too that I own http://www.aisajib.com).
Welcome to the blog, Sajib! My “About” page is more about the blog and less about me. I mentioned my name, religion, marital status, where I live, and what I enjoy doing the most. I am comfortable sharing only that much (on this page, at least. Because you’ll eventually find random information about me and my husband as you read the posts)
I’m working on my English too! It’s my, well, third language
You writes well Nadia………………Your English is awesome too……..
I tried my best…..but I don’t know why I am not being able to better like other bloggers surrounded by me like you………
It’s nice to meet you and nice to read your blog.
Welcome to the blog, Shamim! I don’t have great tips to give you on how to improve your English writing skills, but you can perhaps start by reading a lot of English books, news, blogs, etc, and try to analyze how sentences are structured. I think you can start by reading 70 ways to improve your English.
Salaam,
I like your blog, it’s very unique and original. It’s cute~
-
Walaikum Assalam, and welcome to the blog
Your page named Posts carries all your posts in chronological order. I find this very useful. Did you do this manually? Or through a plugin?
I did it manually. I started it when I had only 10 posts, and continued adding to it as I published each post.
Hi Nadia -
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I don’t have time to read your blog now…Am preparing for a trip to Europe, leaving tomorrow…but I will when I return!
Sherry
Welcome the blog, Sherry! I’m looking forward to reading your Europe posts.
Salams Nadia,
Thanks for dropping by & leaving a comment, if not I wouldn’t have found your blog! What lovely pictures you take!
Lena
Walaikum Assalam, Ghazlena. Welcome to the blog!
walikum salam very nce blog n i have added u into my blog roll so that i can read it daily
Thank you, Reedsss. Welcome to the blog!
assalamualaikum sister. greetings from Indonesia
Walaikum Assalam, Dida. Welcome to the blog!
assalamualaikum nadia! thank you for visiting my blog, you have wonderfull pictures on your blog. i enjoy browsing it …
have a great day there.
Walaikum Assalam, Sis! Thank you so much and welcome to the blog!
You look really cute:) and interesting stuff you’ve here!
Thank you, spotlesssoul! Welcome to the blog
Assalamu alaikum.
Sister, this is really nice to find your blog in the blog-o-sphere…
Hope I will be visiting this blog regularly in future.
Walaikum Assalam. Welcome to the Purple Journal!
Salam Nadia,
I came across your blog today and have been reading through your very interesting posts. many of them make great reads and i enjoyed them. your Umrah posts are exceptional, i just came back from Umrah with my family few weeks back so i was able to relate to your words and feelings easily.
you are doing a great job here. keep it up. The purple journal is definitely going on my blogroll
Many thanks
Walaikum Assalam, SuperSpace, and welcome to the Purple Journal!
I’m glad you enjoyed reading the Umrah posts. It’s been a long time and I miss the entire experience. How was your own Umrah experience? May Allah accept your Umrah and prayers, ameen.
Have a nice day!
If you had not been on my site I would not have discovered this wonderful site and oh-so-awesome photographer.
Thank you, Elmer.
Assalaam Alaykum Nadia!! You have an amazing blog with amazing photographs!! Masha’ALlah! I wish you were here so I could get you to take some photographs for me
Keep up the amazing work sister!!!
Zeba
Walaikum assalam, Zeba and welcome to the Purple Journal! I’d be happy to take your pictures!
Thanks for spending your time.. to see and comment on my blog…..that …with in the minutes of publishing …..receiving a comment…..obviously made me happy….that too from a new visitor……….Also…Its interesting to see your post names…definitely will take some time to read those…..Thanks and Have a great day!
You are most welcome, Sarav. Welcome to The Purple Journal!
وعليكم السلام ورحمة الله وبركاته
you are so great sis ^^~
i’m really glad to have your blog in my favorite bar ^^!
Assalamu alaikum, sis. Thank you so much and welcome to the Purple Journal
Ooooh, I like your blog. Just yesterday I got my first DSLR, and I am so happy!
Thank you so much, Zahara! Congrats on the new DLSR and have great fun taking pictures!
Life takes huge turns when you least expect it..And it’s great that you are making the most of every opportunity
I’ve lived in UAE for awhile and I love that place! By the way what made you choose the name “The Purple Journal”? Why purple?
Hello, Lucky!
UAE is a beautiful and safe place, and we love it here too! When I was choosing a name for this blog, I came up with a few interesting ones. However, they were all taken already. Also, I didn’t particularly know what I’d be blogging about; I had no idea this page will be filled with photography! Purple is my favorite color, that’s all there is to say about the blog’s name
Hi nadia,
thanks for the appreciative comments on our blog.
we will now see UAE through your blog.
Happy travelling & blogging
Cheers
Bindhu & Unny
Hello Bindhu & Unny!
Thank you and welcome to the blog
welcome to your new home Nadoo. (a name given to u by me ..forcefully) cholly for that :$
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Aww, thank you, Pervisha!
Yeah, you’re the culprit! Acha theek hain, maaf kiya
Walaikumassalam wr.
I’ve just stumbled upon ur blog and i think i’ll be coming around more often!
Good work!
Mehmudah
You just won an award from Me.
Visit http://khanumsays.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/awards-night-awards-delight/ and accept your Shiny award.
Khanum recently posted..Awards Night! Awards Delight!
Thank you!!! *hugs*
and I’m stealing the arabic text at the top of this page from you :$ don’t sue me ok.
Khanum recently posted..Awards Night! Awards Delight!
Too late…I’ll see you in court next week :p
I have awarded u with one more trophy. Please accept it. http://khanumsays.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/showcasing-photography-of-nadia-masood/
Oh wow! I’m coming right over to claim my trophy!
Nice site, im a regular visitor now
adeelkunwar recently posted..Marriage is not an easy decission…….
Thanks, Adeel! Welcome aboard.
Today, after a long gap, I thought of this blog. To ensure the url, I googled “purple journal” and…I am thrilled to see you have moved to your own domain ماشاء اللہ
A blog like this really deserved its own domain and hosting. الف مبروک
احمد عرفان شفقت recently posted..ہوا مارنا
Thank you so much, Ahmed Irfan. Welcome to the blog!
Alsalam alikom Nadia
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment so that I could discover your blog
Look forward to following your coming posts and exploring past ones
Thank you again
Sawsan
Sawsan@chef in disguise recently posted..Moo Shu, thin pancakes and hoisin sauce
Walaikum assalam, Sawsan! You are most welcome. I just discovered your food blog today and I can’t wait to try some of your recipes!
Hi Nadia,
Love the blog and very interested in reading through the Umra series. I lived in Saudi but used to get off at the motorway towards Mecca where it said ‘muslims only’. So great to be able to have a look inside through your eyes.
Sally – My Custard Pie recently posted..Custard Mingle
Hello Sally! Thank you so much. I’m glad you enjoyed the Umrah Series. Welcome to the blog!
Aslamu-Alaikum, Nadia
A very interesting N colorful “home” you got over here
Keep it up!
Dua recently posted..Ek Maa ka dil
Walaikum assalam! Thank you so much
Beautiful blog you’ve got going here!
Thanks for stopping by my blog
Thank you so much, Amira! Welcome to the blog
Hi Nadia, you’ve got a great blog! And you’re tempting me to travel to UAE too! Thanks for visiting my blog BigOnTrips.
Thank you for visiting! If you plan on visiting the UAE, I’ll be happy to help you plan your trip.
“This means my travel stories do not include getting drunk, dancing, swimsuits, and gambling.” – dang! I didn’t realize till now that this site is so pale and so lame… I mean, what’s a blog without the excesses, huh? as far as I know, this blogging business has a lot to do with human frailties, is why people come over – to spy on one another and realize the living business is not for folding up yet…
am gonna stick around a while longer and see what mischief and mishaps could be managed on this side sans the necessary elements of life… the blogger better be creative – she has to invent them, by golly! no drinking, no dancing, no gambling? ay, it makes a mockery of civilization and its attainments, haha.
am too slow, not recognizing this is such a poor, drab place… 
i better scout for entertainment some place else. wonder why i didn’t realize things are so the instant i landed on these pages. am getting old and dense, really… . 
hello, Nadia dear… ^_^
Hey ‘San!
“what’s a blog without the excesses?” I agree with you on that. That is why this blog has excessive pictures and food-related posts
Haha! “mockery of civilization and its attainments” that is so funny!
You are not old or dense, my dear. You are good at spotting talent when you see one
(this is my humble self talking).
I cant believe i never looked at this section before, untill you pointed me on my blog site .. i guess that explains why that section was left empty .. hahahhaha… the expressions and sentiments regarding Masood bhai now means to its full to me when i faced troubles in my laptop today … God bless you guys both.. ameen
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Ameen! So sweet of your sis *hugs*
I hope your laptop does not give you any more problems now. I love reading your posts!
I stumbled across your blog as I searched for tips for doing Umrah. My husband and I are InshAllah going in a few weeks and I loved reading about your experience! Thank you for sharing!
~ Shaza ~
Hi there:) I love your blogsite and I enjoy every bit of reading it.:)
Hi Nadia, today’s post on the vanishing Taj Mahal in Dubai Bloggers got me hooked onto your blog and here I am spending a lot of time browsing through your travel. You’ve got such a beautiful blog. Planning to hop in frequently now – have subscribed and Liked and Followed etc!!!
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