From that day on she dressed as a man, although what she earnestly believed was typically oriental attire was actually closer to Regent Street Tunisian and, according to Dr. After reaching Cairo she set up temporary residence before paying a call on Muhammed Ali, ruler of Egypt, as a courtesy as she saw it between equals. The humidity of the Nile Delta, along with the flies and fleas of her temporary home, precipitated a further ride eastwards, and in so doing she became one of the first Europeans often the very first to travel in the deserts of Syria and the Lebanon.
Arriving in Jaffa, she at once set to the task of obtaining a safe conduct across the bandit-infested countryside to Jerusalem. He kept his word and Lady Hester duly made her own grand tour of the Holy City, before proceeding on to Nazareth, Acre and many other cities that were but Biblical words to nearly all westerners at this time. Lady Hester was fast becoming dangerously intoxicated with the welcomes she now received everywhere she went.
Wearing her own form of male clothing and sitting astride an Arab stallion, the sight of a tall, pale-skinned English lady in pantaloons and turban riding at the head of a caravan of camels was certainly a unique sight to the local population. Tolerance, diplomacy and moderation were not bywords to be associated with this man, and to be dictated to by a woman would have been unthinkable, and yet Hester faced him, as she faced all of the men she met, with a combination of fearless charm and belligerence.
She impressed them all with her honest straight-talking, her courage and her horsemanship. She shaved her head, like a Muslim man, in order to make her turban fit more comfortably, started to smoke a traditional Nargile pipe and could now swear at her servants in three languages. Hester was starting to believe herself to be some form of divine power to the people she now met, declaring that: Lady Hester had confused hospitality with awe and servility, toleration with submission, and acclaim with admiration.
It was a mistake that she never recognised, even until her dying day and one that would later be repeated by many others who failed to truly understand the diverse cultural differences that existed between East and West.
Lady Hester now conceived the idea of visiting Damascus, a city then implacably hostile to outsiders, particularly Europeans and women. Making her usual frontal assault on her objective, she asked for, and received, an invitation from the Pasha of Damascus himself and then entered the city on horseback unveiled.
This violated two laws as Christians were forbidden to ride a horse within the city walls and women had to cover their faces in public. The bazaar rose as she passed by and rumours soon spread that this strange white female was a divinity who chose to be English royalty in her earthly form. Lady Hester, perhaps wisely, did nothing to discourage such illusions and confidently acted in the manner that she assumed a Goddess would and as such no door remained closed to her. The ruling tribesman of the area barring her way this time was the Bedouin Emir of the Anazah. Typically, she demanded to be invited to meet with him and her demand was, of course, successful.
She went alone to see him save for two guides despite dire warnings that the Emir was a bloodthirsty despot who would sooner stake her out in the sun than talk to this strange English woman. Standing before him she said: I have left behind all those who were offered to me as a safeguard…to show you that it is you whom I have chosen as such.
The Emir was captivated by her courage and charm and not only granted safe passage to her and her travelling companions, but also provided a guard of seventy Bedouin lancers to ensure her personal safety. Beside each column was stationed a young maiden and, as the procession passed, each fell in beside the mounted Lady Hester as escort, all the way to the temple, where, she remembered much later, when time and memory had perhaps embroidered the truth: I have nothing to fear…I am the sun, the stars, the pearl, the lion, the light from heaven.
Lady Hester Stanhope: A British Queen In A Foreign Land
This was the to be the zenith of her previously aimless life and, little by little, the fall from this high-water mark began. Michael Bruce left for England, ostensibly to visit his ailing father. Plague ravaged the land and Hester nearly died from a fever which it is thought permanently damaged her brain and, perhaps because of this, the woman of action, bravery and adventure would slowly transform into a strange, reclusive hermit.
Now resident in a small convent called Mar Elias, in the foothills of Mount Lebanon, she began acting like a medieval monarch, feeding and clothing every beggar and outcast that came to her door.
She showered vast sums of cash on any sheikh or prince who called on her to pay their respects, borrowing heavily to do so. His last words to her brother James were of Hester, and she kept his blood stained glove with her for the rest of her life. After their deaths, Hester lived in Wales for awhile, but finally decided to leave England to travel, on her doctor's orders. She hired a young physician, Charles Meryon another Scotsman as a medical companion.
- The Kookaburras Laugh.
- Movable Bed Physical Models (Nato Science Series C:)!
- Lady Hester Stanhope as portrayed on film:?
- Chronic City.
- Kids at Play.
Along with her maid, and several others, she set off with her brother James. The plan was to drop James off in Gibraltar and then to continue on. She left England in , not knowing then that she would never see her homeland again. While in Gibraltar, she met the last of her three loves, Michael Bruce, who was twelve years younger than her. He was highly educated, charming with a rich father who'd made his fortune in India.
They became lovers and travel companions, flouting convention. But Hester wasn't stupid, she knew that one day, Michael would leave her. Still they traveled on to Turkey and Greece, from Constantinople they planned to head to Cairo in Egypt. She had no purposes for her travels, although at one point she came up with the hairbrained scheme of getting permission to travel to France, where she imagined she would ingratiate herself with Napoleon, studying his character in order to report back to the English a way that they could defeat him.
Fortunately the French ambassador thought better of issuing her a passport, thereby putting the kibosh on what could have turned out to be an international incident! With nothing better to do, the party pushed on towards Egypt. While in Alexandria, she set about learning Turkish and Arabic.
While shipwrecked on Rhode's, Hester's party lost all their clothes and had to wear Turkish costumes. Lady Hester found them so comfortable and convenient that she adopted the outfit for the rest of her life. As she traveled throughout the Middle East, Lady Hester was received royally whereever she and her party went. She was received in state by the Pasha, Mehmet Ali, in Cairo.
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She traveled to Jerusalem and Acre, and other little known citites. When she reached Damascus, Lady Hester refused to wear the veil or change out of her men's clothes to enter the city, despite the warnings she received that it was an anti-Christian community. Instead she rode in, unveiled at midday. The people of Damascus didn't know what hit them, but their amazement turned to enthusiasm and she was hailed as a Queen. In , she decided to travel to Palmyra, site of Queen Zenobia's ancient kingdom, despite the route going through a desert with potentially dangerous Bedouins. Dressing as a Bedouin, Hester took with her a caravan of 22 camels to carry all her baggage and you thought that Posh Spice had a lot of luggage!
The local Bedouins were so impressed by her courage, that they came to see her. When she arrived in Palmyra, she was crowned in celebration. From then on, she became known as "Queen Hester.
Desert Queen; Lady Hester Stanhope by Anna Myers
From then on everything went to hell in a handbasket. Her lover, Michael Bruce, was recalled back to England after learning of his father's illness. Hester's options however were limited. She was now a fallen woman thanks to the gossip about her relationship with Michael which was well known in England. There was nothing for her back home. Hester decided to stay in the Middle East for good.
Desert Queen: Lady Hester Stanhope (Scandalous Women, #1)
She had high hopes that she and Michael would have a long loving correspondance like Leveson Gower and Harriet Bessborough, but it was not to be. He wrote her only 3 times over and 18 month period after his return. His promise of sending her a thousand pounds a year also was also an empty promise. Hester was left to live on her pension from the government which should have gone far in the Middle East but not by a woman who was used to living and traveling in high style.
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