Armenian population in Van during the Armenian genocide and wrote: Nogales Méndez reported that the civil authorities found it preferable to murder at night with the help of local Kurds. When visiting Aghtamar, an island in Lake Van where the Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross is located, he notes that he uncovered the corpses of many priests. Nogales Méndez visited Diyarbakir on June 26, 1915 and spoke with Mehmet Reşid, who was the governor of the province. During his time in Diyarbakir, he witnessed the massacres of the local Christian population of the province. According to his conversation with Reşid, the orders to massacre were sent from Interior Minister Talat Pasha. Nogales Méndez recounts in his memoirs that Reşid mentioned to him that he received a telegram directly from Talat Pasha ordering him to "Burn-Destroy-Kill". After being transferred from the Caucasus, he saw action on the Sinai and Palestine Front. He fought in the Turkish lines during the entire war, and was awarded the Iron Cross by Kaiser Wilhelm II. On one occasion during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, he came face-to-face with Colonel T. E. Lawrence on the frontier. He and Lawrence looked at each other, then without speaking he and Lawrence parted with nothing to say. He was compared with T. E. Lawrence due to their works in Arabia despite their different uniforms. Post-war years and death After the war ended, he worked with the Nicaraguan revolutionary Augusto César Sandino. In London, Nogales wrote some books about his adventures around the world. In 1936, after the death of Gómez, Nogales Méndez returned to Venezuela and was sent as commissioner to Panama to study the army of that country. Nogales Méndez died in Panama City in 1937, age 59. Books Nogales Méndez wrote several books about his life experience. Cuatro años bajo la Media Luna (1925), English title: Four Years Beneath the Crescent, about his experiences as an officer of the Ottoman Empire. The book includes details about the atrocities committed against the Armenian people by Turkish officials. El saqueo de Nicaragua (1928), English title: The Looting of Nicaragua (1928) Memorias de un Soldado de Fortuna (1932), English title: Memoirs of a Soldier of Fortune (1932) Silk Hat and Spurs (1934, original in English), with a prologue by Field Marshal Edmund Allenby, who describes him as "a brave enemy, and now a trusty friend". See also Witnesses and