Gamon McLellan first became involved with Turkey in the seventies as a journalist in Ankara. From 1979 until 1988 he was Head of the BBC Turkish Service, which became a valued source of uncensored news in Turkey after the 1980 military coup in Turkey. He later became Head of the BBC Arabic Service, overseeing the launch of the bbcarabic.com website and the expansion of BBC Arabic to become a 24-hour broadcast news service and directing the BBC’s Arabic output during the 2003 war in Iraq. Since leaving the BBC, he has continued to pursue his interests in Turkey, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East and teaches a postgraduate course on Turkey at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
