Following Miss Bell - Travels Around Turkey in the Footsteps of Gertrude Bell

Gertrude Bell, a renowned British archaeologist, traveled extensively throughout Turkey in the 19th century. Pat Yale, a guidebook writer, retraced Bell's steps and explored the country, encountering diverse people and experiences that evoke a more complex and multifaceted Turkey than its modern tourist image.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 396 pages
Publication date: 01 September 2023
Publisher: Trailblazer Publications

In 1889, Gertrude Bell, the renowned British archaeologist, writer, and explorer, embarked on a series of visits to what is now Turkey, beginning with her arrival in Constantinople (Istanbul). Over the next twenty-five years, she traversed the length and breadth of the country, undertaking daring expeditions such as climbing the majestic mountains of Hasan and Cudi and crossing the treacherous Dicle (Tigris) on a raft of inflated goatskins. Her remarkable journey also saw her taking the earliest photographs of remote corners of the country, capturing the essence of its landscapes and culture.

To retrace Bell's Turkish adventures, veteran guidebook writer Pat Yale embarked on a journey of her own. Her journey took her to the site on the Syrian border where she met Lawrence of Arabia, to forgotten monasteries with solitary occupants, and to villages where the conversation of trilingual inhabitants hinted at a more multicultural past. Along the way, Yale encountered adherents of faiths that are barely surviving in modern Turkey, including young men manning barricades in the troubled southeast, refugees struggling to make new lives, settled nomads adapting to modern tourism, and taxi drivers whose stories exemplified the Turkish dream.

The tales of these two women's travels intertwine, creating a vivid portrait of a Turkey that is far more complex than its modern tourist image suggests. It evokes a time when the country was a melting pot of different cultures and faiths, where the boundaries between the past and present were blurred, and where the spirit of exploration and discovery still prevailed.

Through their stories, Yale and Bell invite us to explore the rich tapestry of Turkey's history and culture, to appreciate its diverse landscapes and vibrant communities, and to understand the complexities of a nation that has undergone significant transformation over the past century. Their journeys serve as a reminder of the power of travel to broaden our horizons, challenge our preconceptions, and inspire us to seek out the hidden treasures that lie waiting to be discovered in the world around us.

Dimension: 216 x 135 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781912716357