Lawrence's legacy

Wadi Rum in southwest Jordan is 720 kilometres of desert wilderness. The mountains are rose-hued; the landscape silent and beautiful. For thousands of years, seven Bedouin tribes have lived here. They used to cross back and forth to Saudi Arabia with herds of goats long before any modern borders were drawn up. They made their living in a semi-arid landscape miles away from civilisation. In pre-Islamic times they worshipped goddesses such as Allat. They are a hardy people in a truly amazing place.

When I visited Wadi Rum last month with my husband, I was expecting to be overwhelmed by its ancient history. It is unfortunate that Wadi Rum is most famous in western minds for its associations with TE Lawrence, or Lawrence of Arabia. He had, as anyone interested in British colonial history knows, fought with the Arabs during the Arab Revolt of 1917 and 1918, which the Bedouin there joined. In the long history of Wadi Rum, he is a blip. A nanosecond.

But the Bedouin, the vast majority of whom are no longer nomadic and live in villages, know what appeals to tourists. Our guide had an itinerary ready when we hired a jeep to drive across the desert. First stop, Lawrence's Spring. Supposedly he bathed or drank water from it while he was doing his thing with the rebellious Arabs. Our guide jumped out of the vehicle. "This is Lawrence's Spring," he announced, rather grandly.

It was an embarrassing little trickle pouring into a trough of green stagnant water in which a camel was drinking. Maybe it was a gushing waterfall 100 years ago, but frankly who cares? Then there's the canyon with a carving of Lawrence's head. And a mountain is named after his book Seven Pillars of Wisdom. All this is well and nice. But it is a bit pathetic to associate such a grand and majestic place with the actions of someone who is a bit player on the Arab historical scene. Lawrence's escapades in the exotic East have caught the imagination of generations of men (the British in particular), but to Arabs he was just some guy in a dishdasha traipsing around the desert.

When we went back to the guide's house, he told us that his family no longer owned the land that had been in his family for generations. They rented it from the government and made a living showing tourists around. There were four backpacks at the entrance. Some students were planning to camp in the desert. No doubt playing out their own Lawrence of Arabia fantasies.
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