An irresistible invitation and a spiritual call from Makkah that moved her grandfather “Tash” to answer it and endure a long journey all the way from Turkestan, Central Asia. Traveling for two years to Makkah; the city eventually became his home and thus never returned to Turkestan. A generation later, in 2017 Afnan found herself receiving a calling to perform Hajj. In the footsteps of her grandfather, her journey to Makkah seemed to be as lifeshaping, and life-transforming as his trip was. Her life never returned to the same. In the same year, immediately after her Hajj she met Artist Sarah AL Abdali and and started working as her assistant but constantly became her student and apprentice. Al Abdali exposed her to different Islamic Art practices and approaches. And opened her heart and studio to her art learning experiments while she started developing her business “Almihrab” alongside maturing as an emerging artist. Practicing Islamic Art, the way she was exposed to it during Sarah Al Abdali’s studio sessions grew to became a spiritual home and a sanctuary she chose to reside in the same way her grandfather chose Makkah who’s journey constantly motivates her in all walks of life. Her interest to understand and practicing Islamic Art forced her to choose it over any other passion, and made her a lifelong seeker of its essence.