Diana Darke

Diana Darke (born 6 March 1956) is an author, Middle East cultural writer, Arabist and occasional BBC broadcaster. Her work has appeared in the Guardian,  the Financial Times,  the Sunday Times, the Daily Telegraph  and Al Araby. She graduated from Wadham College, Oxford, in 1977, where she studied German and Philosophy/Arabic, then went on to work for the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and Racal Electronics Plc as an Arabic consultant. In 2005, Darke purchased a 17th-century courtyard house in the Old City of Damascus.

Publications

 * Syria, Bradt Travel Guides, 2010, ISBN 978-1-841-62314-6.
 * Oman, Bradt Travel Guides, 2010, ISBN 978-1-841-62332-0.
 * North Cyprus, Bradt Travel Guides, 2012, ISBN 978-1-841-62372-6.
 * Eastern Turkey, Bradt Travel Guides, 2014, ISBN 978-1-841-62490-7
 * My House in Damascus: An Inside View of the Syrian Crisis, Haus Publishing, 2016, ISBN 978-1-908-32399-6.
 * The Merchant of Syria: A History of Survival, Hurst Publishers, 2018, ISBN 978-1-84904-940-5.
 * The Last Sanctuary in Aleppo (co-author), Headline Publishing, 2019, ISBN 978-1-4722-6057-4.
 * Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture shaped Europe, Hurst Publishers, 2020,
 * The Ottomans: A Cultural Legacy, Thames & Hudson, 2022, ISBN 978-0-50025-266-6