Gertrude Bell's travels and activities in Turkish Mesopotamia

Gertrude Lowthian Bell, who is an English traveler, writer, archaeologist and political adviser, has taken twice visits to Mesopotamia in 1909 and 1911. As well as today's Iraq and Syria she also traveled on Turkey's part of the area which is known as Turkish Mesopotamia. During the trips, she took advantage of her History education from Oxford University and financial support of Bell Family. Her later career in British Intelligence and role of the shaping Middle East makes her observations significant. This thesis examines Bell's travels and activities in Turkish Mesopotamia as three sections. The first section is about Bell's first life, family, and educational background before long travels throughout the area. In the second section, the work is concentrated Bell's travels in 1909 and 1911 in the area. Her diaries and letters are main sources of this section. The last section is about sociocultural analyses of Bell and her relations with Ottoman Government and foreign representations in the area. additionally, her studies after leaving area and effects of her activities toward Turkish Mesopotamia takes a place in the last section. The thesis aims to show the situation of Turkish Mesopotamia before World War I from Bell's perspective.