Letter to Cordell Hull from Bert Fish dated March 4, 1940
Dublin Core
Title
Letter to Cordell Hull from Bert Fish dated March 4, 1940
Description
A letter from Bert Fish to the United States Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, describing a formal audience with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on February 14, 1940.
In this dispatch, Fish describes his journey from Jeddah to the town of Al Shomesi at the boundary of Al Haram, the sacred precinct of Mecca. As a non-Muslim, Fish was not permitted to cross into Al Haram, and Al Shomesi, on the road between Jeddah and Mecca was the farthest he could travel to meet the Prince, who was in Mecca at the time.
He describes road conditions of the Saudi desert; an accident involving a local truck driver; his audience with the Prince, to whom he gifted Franklin Delano Roosevelt's portrait; a celebratory tea service following their meeting; and his departure from Saudi Arabia. He describes his experience as, "most colorful, picturesque, and cordial... outstanding."
In this dispatch, Fish describes his journey from Jeddah to the town of Al Shomesi at the boundary of Al Haram, the sacred precinct of Mecca. As a non-Muslim, Fish was not permitted to cross into Al Haram, and Al Shomesi, on the road between Jeddah and Mecca was the farthest he could travel to meet the Prince, who was in Mecca at the time.
He describes road conditions of the Saudi desert; an accident involving a local truck driver; his audience with the Prince, to whom he gifted Franklin Delano Roosevelt's portrait; a celebratory tea service following their meeting; and his departure from Saudi Arabia. He describes his experience as, "most colorful, picturesque, and cordial... outstanding."
Creator
Bert Fish
Date
1940-03-04
Type
text
Coverage
Saudi Arabia
Files
Collection
Citation
Bert Fish, “Letter to Cordell Hull from Bert Fish dated March 4, 1940,” A Floridian in Cairo: The Bert Fish Collection, accessed May 3, 2024, https://bertfish.omeka.net/items/show/46.