Syria : the desert and the sown
(Book)

"First published in 1907 by William Heinemann, London" --Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

TRAVEL WRITING. Gertrude Bell traveller, scholar, archaeologist, spy was one of the most powerful figures in the Middle East in the 20th century. With T.E. Lawrence, she was a significant force behind the Arab Revolt and was responsible for creating the boundaries of the modern state of Iraq, as well as installing the Hashemite dynasty, with Faisal I as king, in Iraq and Transjordan. Her knowledge of the Arab world was forged through decades of travel and the relationships she built across Arabia with tribal leaders and kings, who referred to her as Umm al Mumineen, or Mother of the Faithful. In the winter of 1906, she undertook an often dangerous journey through Greater Syria - Damascus, Jerusalem, Beirut, Antioch and Alexandretta - and her portrait of the landscapes, people and customs of a part of the world that very few had explored at the time is now a classic of travel writing.