Arizona Arab Women Expo brings Middle Eastern atmosphere to Phoenix

The aromatic smell of Syrian baklava, the sights of Arabic calligraphy and the sounds of women speaking in their native tongue of Arabic might make you feel like you’re walking through the streets of the Middle East.

But you’re not. Instead, you’re at the makeshift Middle Eastern bazaar, the Arab Women’s Expo, at the Hilton Phoenix Airport Feb. 15 and 16.

For three years, the expo has allowed Arab women to come together and spotlight their small businesses. It’s a way of keeping an often overlooked community connected.

Arizona’s Arab population is small, less than 0.5%. There are fewer community spaces for Arabs, and especially Arab women, to come together, lean into their craft and sell traditional Middle Eastern commodities. But Ghada Taha, the founder and director of the Arizona Arab Women’s Expo, saw that as an opportunity to do more.

After living in Arizona for nearly two decades, she decided to put her finance and human resources degrees to use. Originally a Palestinian-Jordanian, she knows the novelty of items from her homeland along with the talent many fellow Arab women have for their craft. The problem? There was no centralized market for these women to sell their items.

Taking it upon herself to build a community where it can often feel pretty lonely, Taha sought to put together Arizona’s first and only Arab Women’s Expo, inviting Arab women to spotlight their small businesses and make a name for themselves at the market.


The exposition brings together about 25 local vendors of Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, Iraqi, Egyptian and other backgrounds to sell their creations to fellow community members, but it's far more than just a market. It's a chance for Arab women to connect with one another, to make an income with talents they acquired in their native homeland and to build a sense of community in a state so far away from home.

A number of the vendors have been around since the beginning. Taha attributes it to the sense of camaraderie and the marketing efforts she puts in to ensure the expo is a starting point, not an ending point, for the vendors. The purpose is to introduce Arizonans to these small woman-owned businesses, allowing the vendors to get sales year-round by gaining loyal customers who otherwise wouldn’t know these shops existed.

The expo is a one-stop shop for many Middle Eastern delicacies, ranging from Yemeni coffee, Syrian baklava, Palestinian Msakhan and more.

This year, the market will be held two weeks before Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims, and will showcase imported and handmade thobes, the traditional attire worn by Muslim women while celebrating Eid, the feast to mark the end of their fast. They plan on hosting a fashion show spotlighting Moroccan kaftans, too.

The market feels very similar to their native homelands, with the rush of people and the comfortability of speaking in their native tongues of Arabic to one another, but the biggest joy for Taha is the ability to empower fellow Arab women and show them, and their children, that their talents matter and that these women can, and are, making a difference by giving Arizonans a piece of the Middle East.

“We are spotlighting Arab women and encouraging empowerment. We women have a place in the community, and we can do a lot,” Taha says.

While Taha does a lot to ensure the market's success, including reaching out to vendors, reserving the spot and doing all the marketing, she couldn’t do it without these committed women.

“It's a family atmosphere. We help each other, we know the market is important for their business. This is their income as well, and I always care that it's gonna be a success,” she says.

Last September, the market served over 500 customers. This year, they’re looking to serve far more than that, mainly fellow Arabs in the state, who are looking to buy Eid gifts at the market.

After the market, Taha continues working with the women to better their marketing efforts and bring in more customers. For her, it’s a way of blending her background in finance and human resources with her love of community.

“I love what I'm doing. I think about the businesses, all the women, and I love my community,” she says.


There is a spot for everybody at the Expo. Need real gold imported from the Middle East? They have it. Unique hijabs? It’s here. Arabic perfume? Yes, plenty.

Whether you’re looking for something affordable or something higher-end, there is a hidden treasure for all at the Arab Women’s Expo. She promises that nobody will come here and walk away empty-handed. In fact, she’s sure of it, because the expo does giveaways, too. You have a higher chance of walking away with something in your hand rather than empty-handed.

If you’ve never known the sounds of Middle Eastern bazaars, with the bustling paths and the lingering smell of Turkish coffee in the air, the Arab Women’s Expo is a wonderful opportunity to find yourself transported, even temporarily, to the Middle East.

“When you come, you can feel the love, the family atmosphere. We are speaking the same language, we are happy to work with each other, you (feel) related to your homeland,” Taha says.

Arizona Arab Women's Expo. Noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15 and Sunday, Feb. 16. Phoenix Hilton Airport, 2435 S. 47th St. There is no cost to attend.