Across Arabia

At the end of March 1937, Geraldine Rendel found she had achieved a trio of unintended distinctions. As the first Western woman to travel openly across Saudi Arabia as a non-Muslim, the first to be received in public by King 'Abd al-'Aziz, and the first to be received at dinner in the royal palace in Riyadh, she had joined a tiny coterie of pioneering British woman travellers in Arabia. Until the 1930s, a journey by any foreigner, male or female, across Arabia was a rare event. But when in 1932 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was proclaimed, increasing numbers of diplomats and oil company representatives began to make their way to its remote desert capital, Riyadh, aided by the arrival of the motorcar. With the car came the camera, and the pictures by the Rendels, both of them keen photographers, rank among the finest from the period.

Geraldine's husband George, head of the Eastern Department of the Foreign Office, had been responsible for Britain's relations with Saudi Arabia since 1930. When he and his wife were invited to the Kingdom by King 'Abd al-'Aziz for a visit combining diplomacy with travel, he accepted with alacrity. The couple kept a detailed diary, on which Geraldine drew to write a lively account that she intended for publication. In contrast to her husband, who had serious political business to conduct, she treats their journey as a holiday. In the event her narrative, full of vivid social encounters, humour and insights into the women's side of life, failed to appear in print and is published here for the first time. Combined with the couple's striking images, this book presents a unique picture of Saudi Arabia on the verge of modernisation. William Facey's biographical introduction interweaves the story of Geraldine's adventurous life with the evolution of Anglo-Saudi relations in the 1920s and '30s, so placing the Rendels' trans-Arabian journey in its political context.

Table of Contents

Foreword and acknowledgements ix | Maps 41 – 43 | Introduction Through a Magic Door: The Life and Travels of Geraldine Rendel by William Facey 1 | Geraldine Rendel: birth and background 3 | A young diplomatic family 9 | Britain and the Arab world between the wars 11 | Saudi Arabia in the 1920s and ’30s 12 | First Middle Eastern journey, 1932 16 | Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1932–36 17 | The Rendels’ 1937 Middle Eastern journey 20 | Anglo-Saudi tensions, 1937–39 33 | The Rendels: the Second World War and after 35 | George and Rosemary Rendel visit the Kingdom, January 1964 39 | Arabian Journey: Three Weeks Crossing Saudi Arabia by Geraldine Rendel 45 | Foreword 46 | From Basra to Kuwait 47 | Bahrein 59 | From Bahrein to Hasa 63 | Hasa Oasis 73 | From Hasa to ‘Uraira 91 | To Rumaya 101 | Arrival at Riyadh 107 | 8 With Amir Saud in the Palace at Riyadh 125 | 9 Riyadh to Duwadmi 135 | 10 Qai‘iya, Afif, Dafina, Muwaih and Ashaira 145 | 11 Taif 155 | 12 To Jidda to Meet the King 171 | 13 The Queens’ Palace at Jidda 185 | 14 Departure 191 | Notes 193 | Sources and References 213 | Picture credits 219 | Index 221

William Facey is a historian, publisher and museum planner. Having read Classics, philosophy and art history at Wadham College, Oxford, he first went to Arabia in 1974, since when he has participated in various museum projects in the region, notably in Saudi Arabia. His books, introductions and articles cover the history, architecture and early photography of the Arabian Peninsula countries, as well as Arab maritime history, Islam among the British, and Western travellers in Arabia, with a focus on those visiting Islam’s holy cities. He founded Arabian Publishing in London in 2002, and ran it until 2015, when it was acquired by Medina Publishing Ltd. His latest book, Charles Huber: France’s Greatest Arabian Explorer, was published in 2022.