The Desert Queen

Gertrude Bell navigated the Iraqi desert almost 100 years before U. S. troops arrived in the land. She went by camel and car to the oases and architectural sites across Mesopotamia. She learned Arabic and conversed over coffee with many a sheik, who otherwise would not share his table with a woman. She cultivated trust and learned of the dynamics of the tribes and peoples who had wandered this land for centuries prior to the discovery of oil. She knew of the Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds long before they became familiar names in the Washington Post. She broke barriers in the Middle East because she had broken barriers at Oxford, as one woman among many men. She brought excellence to her studies and applied this excellence to her exploration of the Middle East that became her second home. Less recognized by her British peers, she gained prominence during World War I when her geographical, social, and political understanding of this hot spot led her to the Cairo conference following the war. Gertrude became part of the political leadership, not always appreciated, that served to guide the newly emerging Iraqi government. Despite her intellectual breadth and her adventurous spirit, she remained conservative about women's rights, even their right to vote. She retained her cultivated, upper class British presence as a woman despite her keen insights into the Arab world and mind. She reflected a bit of the aura of the British queen while ruling her own desert realm.