Did you see film the queen of desert with nicole kidman this is part of the story about gertrude belle the queen of desert visited also dalmatia her extraordinary life was like a film british gertrude bell was traveller writer archaeologist explorer cartographer and political officer she was one of the most powerful woman in the british empire in the early 20th century yet she has been overlooked in much of the history written about this period her friends were among others sheikhs in