"We lower the light, and it's chocolate, wine and couples holding hands, " says Masoud's brother Bahman.
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In recent years Mr Masoud again retreated to the Panjshir with the advance of the Taliban.
It was at this time that Mr Masoud first became famous as a guerrilla leader.
All the same, Mr Masoud proved to be a resourceful leader, especially in defence.
This week Turkish diplomats met Masoud Barzani, who heads the Kurdish regional government in Iraq.
It seems likely that the counter-attack in Mazar was organised, at least in part, by Mr Masoud's lieutenants.
Mr Maliki and Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan region, get on badly and have not met for months.
Mr Masoud was defence minister in that government, headed by Burhanuddin Rabbani, which, theoretically, is still in existence in exile.
CNN's David Ariosto, Tom Cohen, Barbara Starr, Keating Holland, Nick Paton Walsh and journalist Masoud Popalzai contributed to this report.
With his troops and what materials (including 2, 000 books) he could transport, Mr Masoud made a fighting retreat to the Panjshir.
Their fierce interpretation of Islam was not to his taste: Mr Masoud had been brought up with western ideas of personal freedom.
Although his father was a colonel, Mr Masoud chose to study engineering.
Mr Masoud is a charismatic figure, well educated and a formidable tactician.
Another possibility is a Panjshir-based attack by Mr Masoud on Kabul.
CNN's Kimberly Berryman and Masoud Popalzai contributed to this report.
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Turkey is also leaning on the Iraqi Kurdish leader, Masoud Barzani, who has brokered a deal between the PYD and its rivals, united under the banner of the Kurdish National Council.
However, Kurdistan Regional President Masoud Barzani recently told BBC Persian that they had not received a request to extradite Mr Hashemi, only a letter to say he is forbidden from leaving the country.
First, they underestimated the strength of General Dostam's one-time ally, Ahmad Shah Masoud, who continues to hold out in the mountains and high passes of the Panjshir Valley, in the east of the country.
At the urging of U.S. officials, the two main Kurdish leaders, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani, have spent the past several days trying to convene a meeting of feuding political factions.
Some writers have credited Mr Masoud with driving the Soviet army from Afghanistan when the reality was more prosaic: the Russians withdrew because of growing civilian opposition at home, rather as the Americans were undermined in Vietnam.
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