The things which will tell in here are not a movie. If they are, I would already ask to Paul, because he is the best movie critic I know on this planet. First came into my mind, maybe James Bond; yes he is the most famous British spy character all over the world. Handsome, intelligence sometimes cool sometimes sympathetic. Most beautiful women are waiting to go to bed with him; this is the popular dream of human males:) Bond arouses admiration. Come let’s study some sub-psychology, and we see how British Imperialism puts the world in a shape what they want, while they make the people admire to the spying business.
The quotes in here were quoted from today’s article of Yılmaz Ozdil who is columnist journalist at Turkish Sozcu newspaper.
At the article we can see many spy including Gertrude Bell who is known as “Queen of the Desert”.
I don’t know yet previous dates, but the first name which we face to is John Philby at the article.
The author the book of “The Empty Quarter” John Philby, was a British spy. He knew Arabic like his mother tongue. Supposedly he has been Muslim. He took the name “Sheikh Abdullah”. While we were struggling in the Gallipoli with the British(1915-1916), he was sent to Mecca to assist the Sheriff Hussein who opened the rebel flag against Ottoman. On one hand he organized Arabs who stabbed in our backs, the other side he picked up the concession for the British oil companies, also he has sold historical artifacts to England museums by swiping; he made a fortune.
When he returned to England, he entered into politics, but he was not be elected, he offended. He switched sides in the Second World War, he started to sell the knowledges about his own country, he worked for Hitler on the sly. He was caught, arrested some time later; after he was under house arrest. When the war finished, he left England, he moved to Lebanon. He died because of heart attack. He was buried in a Muslim cemetery in Beirut.
John Philby’n had a son: Kim Philby. He was a graduate of Cambridge like his father, he knew Arabic as fluently, he was a spy also. In 1947, he was sent to Istanbul as consulate secretary. He was tasked with the liaison of CIA and MI6 at Washington. He was recorded at Cold War history as “spy of the century”. Because he was working as double agent. He was the mole. He was recruited by the Soviet secret service, he was selling information to Moscow. He was suspected and was followed. But somehow he couldn’t catched, and he was fired. He went, like his father, he moved to Beirut. Supposedly he was a journalist.
After quite some time, in 1961 Anatoliy Golitsyn who was KGB officer has defected to the United States; Golitsyn sang like a canary*. He disclosed the secrets of Kim Philby. Evidence sought was found finally. Kim Philby who understood that the rope of British will twine around to his neck, went Armenia via Syria, and from there he fled to Russia.
Earlier, he was divorced from his two wife, one of them was a British, the other one was an American. In this time he has married to Rufina Pukhova who was Russian writer, Polish origin. His life has been novel, was filmed in Hollywood. He has been an alcoholic. He tried to commit suicide twice, he couldn’t be succeed. In 1988 he passed away due the heart attack like his father. Russia made a postage stamp for his memory.
After his death, it appeared that while he was working in Istanbul, he delivered Konstantin Volkov who was an officer of KGB and worked in Istanbul consulate general in the USSR and who wanted to emigrate to England, to the KGB with his own hands with master maneuvers. Because there was a mole list into Volkov’s bag, and Kim Philby was written at the top of the list!
If we return again to his father of Kim Philby spy as himself. John Philby who organized Saudis, he was carrying out the organization of Iraq with a woman who has name Gertrude Bell.
Gertrude was a spy. She was a graduate of Oxford. She knew very well seven languages including Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Kurdish. She was very nice. Red hair, green eyes, delicate. She was flaring light around herself. Under the cover of archaeologist’s works she toured every inch of Mesopotamia, she organized tribes. In 1919, she participated as a delegate to the Paris Peace Conference. She has mapped Middle East. She divided the regions as Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen. She drew the borders of present-day Iraq with her hands. Iraqi border which was signed between Turkey and England in 1924, was her work. She also found a king. The son of Sharif Hussein who was John Philby’s buddy, Faisal was sat on the throne of Iraq as a puppet.
Arabs named her “Queen of the desert,”. Never married. She was in love actually. She was in love with Major Dick Doghty-Willie. Misfortune thing was that the Major has married. They sent letters with eachother secretly, they were meeting. But Major Dick was not divorcing from his wife, Gertrude was getting depressed. The issue has solved by us(Turks). We hit Major Dick at Dardanelles Wars(Gallipoli) and the man died. In this way, it did not need to be experienced of any family tragedy.
Gertrude’s hatred of Turks had started with this event. When her lover died, she threw herself to Cairo, she joined the Arab office of the British secret service. She went to Iraq to get things done that I outlined above. Firstly she dug a pit for us(Turks), after she caused the death of herself. In 1926, at the age of 58 by taking an overdose of sleeping pills, she committed suicide. She was buried in the British cemetery in Baghdad.
Before killing herself, she came to Anatolia in many times under the cover of archaelogist’s works. She knew our weaknesses about women, she used this well, she ensured the doors open. It wasn’t enough, we gave a guidance next to her for her walking around as she wanted. She made her work as best. She went all Anatolia cities, including Diyarbakir, Adana, Konya, Cappadocia and etc. Even she climed Cudia Mountain. She listed Kurdish villages. She detailed the Kurdish tribes according to their tendencies; which ones are in favor of government, which are available to betrayed, she took off genealogy. Where are dims, where the transition roads, she did map all. For example, in a letter “I stayed in the Zakho camp,” she was saying. Do you remember the Zakho camp!**
She went to Antioch(Turkey city at Syria border). She made excavation at Karkamıs. At the border of Syria where we see what has become today, she reported the ethnic origins of the populaton while she said “I am visiting churches at the Syrian border”. When she died, she left the 16 diaries with her handwriting, about two thousand letters and seven thousand photos.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk stepped on the land from Samsun city (at the shore of Black Sea) for starting the liberation war. Gertrude has leaked to Anatolia four months later and came to the city of Malatya(eastern Anatolia city). She met with Major Noel who was an British spy and tried to gather Kurdish tribes. While she tried to another eastern city Elazıg she was caught by independence army of Mustafa Kemal(Their name is Kuva-i Milliye). She has been learned Kuva-i Milliye was not like the Ottomans. And she was not able to come Anatolia until the independence war end.
I said before, she never married. But she was sort of mother. Because there was a man who she said “my spiritual boy”: He was Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence. Also he is known, Lawrence of Arabia.
She raised him as own son, she guided to him, she has been mentor for him and she introduced him with influential people. Lawrence of Arabia was saying for this woman who was just bigger himself 20 years: She is no different from my mother, I learned everything I know from her.”
The king of Saudi who gave the medal to Tayyip Erdogan and Abdullah Gul at his hotel where he stayed, he restored Lawrence house in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. And the Saudi king hung a plate at the door of this house with the huge letters “This house is the headquarters of Lawrence who helps us to fight against the Turks”.!
Anyway, the life of Lawrence of Arabia who died in 1953 with motorcycle accident while he was only 46 years old was made a film. It came to the theaters at 1962, it won Oscar in seven categories including best director. By the Library of Congress of USA, because of the historical value, it was taken under protection of the National Film Archive.
However…
It hasn’t been “The End”.
Gertrude Bell’s life also was made the film. Oscar awarded star Nicole Kidman played legend woman spy at the movie of “Queen of the Desert”. It was shot in Morocco and in Jordan. Five thousand figurant was used.
This friday the movie will come to the theaters.
What a coincidence, isn’t it?
*”singing like a canary” is phrase in Turkish and it is using for the ones who are talking too much and giving too much knowledge under hard circumstances.
**Zakho camp: One of the camps of PKK terrorist organization.
The guotes from:
http://www.sozcu.com.tr/2016/yazarlar/yilmaz-ozdil/kutul-ammare-1213317/
unnecessary news from earth 