“Surely, of all the
wonders of the world, the
horizon is the greatest.”structure of the militant Muslim
Brotherhood, already the bane
of British administrators, Stark
created the Ikwan al-Hurriyah, the
Brotherhood of Freedom. This network
of British sympathisers swelled to
40,000 members and helped to
sustain Arab and Egyptian loyalty to
the Allies. With Stark at their helm,were made. The women were
enthralled by Stark and her films
as were their husbands, and she
is credited with single-handedly
ensuring the neutrality of Yemen
throughout the war.
This was not Stark’s only
significant wartime contribution,
however. Closely copying thebottom Photograph of the
Wadi Hadhramaut caravan in
Yemen, taken by Stark herself
RiGht Freya Stark at a writing
desk at her home in Asolo,
Italy, circa 1950
PHOTO © ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY / ALAMY