Improbable Women: Five Who Explored the Middle East

Front Flap, Title Page, Other Works in the Series, Copyright, Dedication, About the Author

IMPROBA BLE WOMEN Contemporary Issues in the Middle East Mehran Kamrava and Carol Fadda-Conrey, Series Advisers Sel ec t ed t it l es in Co nt empo r a ry Issu es in t h e Mid dl e East American Writers in Istanbul: Melville, Twain, Hemingway, Dos Passos, Bowles, Algren, Baldwin, and Settle Kim Fo r t un y Crossing Borders: An American Woman in the Middle East Jud it h Ca es a r Cultural Criticism in Egyptian Women’s Writing Car ol ine Seymo ur -Jo r n Living in Romantic Baghdad: An American Memoir of Teaching and Travel in Iraq, 1924–1947 Id a Dong es St au d t ; Jo h n Jo seph , ed. Making Do in Damascus: Navigating a Generation of Change in Family and Work Sall y K. Gall ag h er The Perils of Joy: Contesting Mulid Festivals in Contemporary Egypt Samul i Sc h iel ke Veiled Employment: Islamism and the Political Economy of Women’s Employment in Iran Ro ksa na Ba h r a mit ash and Had i Sal eh i Esf a h a ni, eds. We Are Iraqis: Aesthetics and Politics in a Time of War Nadj e Al -Al i and Debo r a h Al -Naj ja r , eds. Writing Off the Beaten Track: Reflections on the Meaning of Travel and Culture in the Middle East Jud it h Ca es a r IMPROBABLE Five Who Explored the Middle East WOMEN WILLIAM WOODS COTTERMAN Syr ac use Un i v e r si t y Pr e s s Copyright © 2013 by Syracuse University Press Syracuse, New York 13244-5290 The obituary of Gertrude Bell in chapter 16 is reprinted with permission from the Alpine Journal 38 (November 1926). All Rights Reserved First Edition 2013 13 14 15 16 17 18 6 5 4 3 2 1 ∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. For a listing of books published and distributed by Syracuse University Press, visit our website at SyracuseUniversityPress.syr.edu. ISBN: 978-0-8156-1023-6 (cloth) 978-0-8156-5231-1 (e-book) Libr a r y of Cong r ess Cat al o g ing -in-Publ ic at ion Dat a Cotterman, William W. Improbable women : five who explored the Middle East / William Woods Cotterman. — First edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8156-1023-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Women travelers—Middle East— Biography. 2. Middle East—History—19th century. 3. Middle East— History—20th century. 4. Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra. I. Title. G490.C64 2013 915.604'1509252—dc23 2013025934 Manufactured in the United States of America • To my wife, Kennethe; my daughters Elizabeth, Kennethe, and Dana; my granddaughters Jennifer, Lauren, Sarah, Emily, Lily, and Alena; and my great-granddaughters Harper, Alexa, and Violet—improbable women all. • William Woods Cotterman, PhD, worked in many countries in the Middle East during the past fifty years and lived in the area for three years. First full-time chairman of the Computer Information Systems Department at Georgia State University, he wrote six books and a number of articles on information systems–related subjects. In 1973, he took a leave of absence to work in Kuwait on an inputoutput analysis of the economy that led eventually to the establishment of Kuwait’s national accounts. Subsequent assignments in the Middle East came from the United States Information Agency, United Nations Development Programme, National Science Foundation , and American University in Beirut Services Corporation, in addition to private companies. President Carter appointed him to a Committee on White House Information Systems to analyze and make recommendations on the use of computers and information technology within the Executive Office of the president. Bill lives in Norcross, Georgia, with his wife, Kennethe. He is now a professor and chair emeritus of computer information systems at Georgia State University. He continues to study Arabic and remains an ardent traveler: most recently as the only passenger on the motor vessel Hanjin Boston on a five-week voyage from Long Beach, California, to Korea, China, Taiwan, and back. In the course of the...