Sykes was also a friend of Aubrey Herbert, another Englishman influential in Middle Eastern affairs, and was acquainted with Gertrude Bell, the pro-Arab Foreign Office advisor and Middle Eastern traveller.
Sykes var også ven af Aubrey Herbert, en engelskmand med stor indflydelse i mellemøsten-anliggender, og blev kendt med Gertrude Bell, en pro-arabisk rådgiver for Foreign Office.