[5 September 1923] Baghdad Sep. 5 Darling step-mother and father. How familiar it seems to be writing to you from here! Well, I had an excellent journey. I got to the Heliopolis aerodrome safely at 4.45 and found the planes making ready to start. There's a new order that no passenger may sit in front with the pilot but they had arranged a luxurious easy chair for me in the thing's tail - really much more comfortable than being in front where you always get mixed up with the controls or fear you may. We got off at 5.15, flew for half an hour at the end of which the landscape seemed strangely familiar and behold we landed once more on the aerodrome. The other plane had burst a tyre and could not start. It took half an hour to mend it and we were off again at 6.15. An uninterrupted flight of 33/4 hours brought us to Ziza [Jiza]. It was interesting crossing the canal, then dull through Sinai - I went to sleep and woke shortly before we flew over Gaza. Bethlehem [(Beit Lahm)] came in a flash, then the Dead Sea [(Yam Hamelah, Bahret Lut)], very wonderful, and so onto the aerodrome. It was 10 o'clock and we decided to fill up with petrol and go straight on. We motored down to the station and lunched on bread, sausages and then hard boil egg. Back at 12, to the planes expecting to find them ready. But they weren't. At 12.30 the filling up was still not finished and it was too late to start. So I stept [sic] into a 9A and flew across to 'Amman in the teeth of a howling wind, a most unpleasant journey of 20 minutes. There Group Capt McEwen, a friend of Herbert's, had a hut ready for me and I went to bed and to sleep till 5. While we were having tea Mr Philby came up with the Amir 'Abdullah, the latter sleek and pleasant as usual. He stayed talking about Faisal's visit and Ibn Sa'ud and Arabian boundaries till 6 when he left Mr P. and me together. We talked till dinner time when Dora arrived and Jack's mother and boy who was spending the holidays with them. After dinner the whole party went off to see some acrobats but Jack and I stayed and talked till near 11. He is not very happy about his future. He says under present conditions, he really hasn't any work to do, not enough to make life interesting. He doesn't want to go back to India and sees no other opening. He has got some money of his own, but naturally doesn't want to do nothing for the rest of his days. So we talked and talked - he was very glad to have someone to talk to I think. And we're quite back to our old terms of friendship.
Next morning I flew back to Ziza at 5, a wonderful still dawn, Sep 1. And then we had a series of misadventures. We got off at 5.15 and paff! one of the wire stays near the right hand engine broke with a loud report. It had been cold in the night which perhaps had had something to do with it. The 9A flew to 'Amman and returned with a new wire. They fixed it and about 7 we were off again. This time we flew about 5 minutes when the engine began to curse and swear and back we came. Magnets gone wrong. We put in what the mechanics call a new mag and about 10.30 we rose for the second time - no go. We came back, and they fussed over the magnets for an hour or more. I felt no confidence when we got into the air once more and I was right. It wouldn't work. It was now near 12, the last moment for departure and luckily we found a message to say I was to get into the other plane and go on alone. We had the wireless but not my easy chair, so I sat on a little bench and was thankful enough to be off. We left at 12.5; it was roughish at first and I felt a little sick but wasn't and presently got accustomed to it. A non stop flight of 53/4 hours brought us to Baghdad where I found Capt Holt, Sir Henry's ADC waiting for me with a car. It was near 7 by Baghdad time and the sun had set. So home to find my household in a terrific jig, Haji Marzuq beaming in Mizhir's shoes and Zaya, Haji 'Ali (the cook) dancing with joy. Also a message from Ken Cornwallis to say he was coming to dinner! And he arrived as beaming as the rest before I had finished dressing - Lord! I was dirty and dusty. But the excitement of returning completely woke me up and we talked till near 11 of all that had happened since I left. It was delightful. A message from Sir Henry came bidding me to lunch next day and I went at 12 after first stepping round to Col. Slater to telephone to J.M. Wilson - my telephone being out of order. I found Sir H. and Bernard Bourdillon waiting with open arms into which I fell by turn. And then we talked like anything till lunch when Bernard left and I stayed to lunch. The King had sent an ADC in the morning and I made so bold as to suggest dining with him and as he already had Fakhri Jamil and Majid Beg Shawi I took Ken Cornwallis to talk to them while I talked to H.M. He was very cordial and after the two Arabs went we three sat and talked - the dinner was in the garden under the palm trees. We got back early.

On Monday morning I went to office at 7 and presently across to the Serai where I called on all the Ministers and on Sabih Beg, the Lord Mayor, whose family we visited in C'ple [Istanbul (Constantinople)]. The rest of the morning and of yesterday was mostly taken with visitors but I slipped off on Monday afternoon to go out with Ken Cornwallis to look at the floods round Aqar Quf - he's training a puppy spaniel which we took with us. The J.M. Wilsons, Mr Thomson and Air Commodore Charlton dined with me on Monday and on Tuesday Bernard Bourdillon lunched and stayed till near 4 when I rode out with Mr Thomson to see Haji Naji - I need not tell you of the welcome that met me there! Ken dined and we had an immense talk about elections; today we all dine with Fakhri, a dinner in my honour and tomorrow I have a dinner party here - a round of gaiety! I went to the Naqib today. He seemed very well and was deeply interested in my tales of C'ple. They all ask after you, first thing, even before they've asked after me.

Things are going well. I arrived at a moment of slight tension, Sir Henry having written to H.M. to say he thought the right kind of people wouldn't be elected if the Govt didn't come out with vigourous declarations of its policy - rather too critical a letter, I think, and not recognizing enough how much the Ministers were doing. The King took it as a person criticism of himself and was much hurt but the end of it was that Sir H. said he haadn't meant that at all and everyone is smiling again. As a matter of fact the elections are going very reasonably well and I see no reason to doubt that they will get an Assembly which will {pass} ratify the treaty.

There was also a fuss because the Liberal Party, the head of which is the Naqib's eldest son, took offence at some rather curt reply from the Prime Minister and declared that they would close the party and would not support the elections, silly asses. The party was formed with the sole object of getting the elections through and the treaty ratified. However 'Ali Sulaiman of Ramadi [Ramadi, Ar], who is far the most stalwart member, came over in a fury and declared he would form a new party himself and the net result is that Saiyid Mahmud has been persuaded that he has been a fool (which he is) and 'Ali is taking him to see the King today. So that's over too I think. These little breezes are part of the atmosphere.

A very sad thing is that Mr Thomson is going away. The Indian Govt wants him back and he leaves at the end of the month. I shall miss him very much - already we had been planning expeditions together if he was allowed to stay.

It isn't a bit hot - maximum about 100 and a pleasant wind which is very unusual in Sep. My garden is rather a desert, owing, it is said, to Mizhir's neglect of it before he was dismissed. We'll hope Haji Marzuq will bring it round. The dogs are quite indifferent and treat my presence as a matter of course. There have been a few cases of cholera but nothing to speak of and it's dying out. I shan't bother to be innoculated. I merely mention it because I think there was a telegram about it in the papers.

I shall have to set to and pay millions of calls on all the people who have been to see me and I must ask heaps of them to dinner. Also there are stacks of back files to read.

In the midst of all this I find time to feel amazement about Italy and Corfu [Kerkira] - outrageous conduct - and concern about the Japanese tornado. By the way, won't you be at Milan [Milano]? I can't remember your exact date but I think I'll address this letter to Mother.

Goodbye dearest family. I must write a word to Sir Percy. Your very loving daughter Gertrude