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. Source: Wikipedia (en)