The murmur and whisper of the desert

When Gertrude Bell set off on one of her journeys to the Middle East in January 1905, she primarily aimed to study Byzantine and Roman ruins. As it would later turn out, she was preparing for her future mission as an advisor to the English government regarding the reorganization of the Middle East. With her caravan and a few local attendants, she ventured into the deserts and mountains of Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon, reaching areas that had hardly been entered by any European, let alone a woman, before her. Confidently, she sought contact with sheikhs and tribal leaders, under whose protection she was able to travel between rival tribes. She listened to the stories of shepherds, sat with soldiers by the campfire, in the black tents of the Bedouins, and in the visiting rooms of the Druze. She crossed geographical and social boundaries, disregarding conventions, for "English women are peculiar. On one hand, they are probably the greatest slaves to convention. But once they break free from it, they do so completely, as if seeking revenge." This was noted in a 1907 review of her book in the New York Times.