About the Book

In The Caliph’s Favorite, author Naava Mashiah sets her work of historical fi ction in Andalusia, Spain, during the Muslim Caliphate of Abd al Rahman III at Medina al Zahra. The Caliph ruled with his vizier, Hasdai Ibn Shaprut, a devout Jew, by his side. In Cordoba’s atmosphere of peaceful-coexistence, Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived, worked, and worshipped in a climate of mutual respect. Sadly, human nature is not perfect, and such harmony is not sustainable. Still, precious lessons can be learned from both its ascent and its demise. The Caliph’s Favorite provides a lyrically-framed window on a halcyon place during a halcyon time. As with all things human, greed, lust, and suspicion insinuate themselves into the careful balance. Still, in Andalusia, for one golden moment, the best in humanity came to the fore. Mashiah’s extensively-researched, emotionally resonant novel offers in sights into the glorious possibility of societal, cultural, and religious co-existence, while also revealing the dark, secret histories that unravel the best of human intentions.

Features & Details

About the Author

Naava Mashiah is a former Israeli diplomat whom has been active in ecomic cooperation in the MENA region for over 20 years. She founded ME Links, a company specializing in regional economic cooperation and connects businesses across geopolitical borders in transfer of technology in MENA. She is active in informal diplomacy and international conferences taking place in European capitals and Gulf region with infl uentialfi gures from the MENA region. Naava is the author of Israel 2023: Closing the circle.She has published articles about Middle Eastern affairs in Status magazine, Common Ground News, Khaleej Times, Daily News Egypt, ME Links has been featured in ‘Globes’. Her articles have been translated to Arabic, Indonesian, Urdu, French and Hebrew. She is a member of YPO, Alpine Chapter.Naava resides in Geneva, Switzeland.