Gertrude Bell’s Latter to her Father, Sir Hugh Bell
26 April 1900
Thurs 26. [26 April 1900] We got off at 6.30 and rode all up the Wady Sir [Wadi es Sir], a most beautiful green valley full of oaks growing in clusters as though they were in an English park. Corn and water mills and every sign of prosperity showed us that we were reaching the Circassian country. Their first village was Es Sir at the head of the valley, good stone built houses, with verandahs supported by wooden pillars, neat clean courtyards with a couple of figtrees and a few willows growing in them and a tidy well clad population – it was extraordinarily un-Arabic. Read more
