İsmail Bilgin, who penned his accounts of many painful times for Turks during World War I such as; Sarıkamış-White Grief and Canakkale Legend, writes in his new novel, Defense of Medina, about the lesser known front of the war: the Hedjaz Front and the most important fort of that front; the defense of Medina...

Fahrettin Pasha, who had been assigned to Medina by 4th Army Commander Cemal Pasha in 1916 ( he was also called “the Lion of the Desert” by the British for his patriotism in Medina), had defended Medina despite the narrow circumstances for 2 years and 7 months against the British Forces and Arab rebels.

Based on historical facts, İsmail Bilgin narrates the defense of this commander and his soldiers for almost 30 months in his book, Defense of Medina / the Lion of the Desert Fahrettin Pasha. The book pictures the heroic story of Fahrettin Pasha, who even ignored the Sultan’s orders since Istanbul was occupied at the time and of the soldiers, who resisted despite the many setbacks in Medina. Additionally, there are bold details about the British lieutenant colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence and Sheikh Hussein.