Thomas Edward Lawrence

The Diary Kept by T. E. Lawrence While Travelling in Arabia During 1911 Thomas Edward Lawrence

"Up about 4.30. Left about an hour later for Nizib. Road took me up hills at first, and then across a pleasant stream full of springs. After that through olive-yards and vine yards and fields of liquorice, to Nizib in about an hour and a half. There I bought two half-pennyworth of bread and the same of grapes, and went to the roof of a khan to eat them. Left about 10 a.m. after drinking an iced sherbert of distilled rose leaves." After the British Museum wound up its excavations at Carchemish, T. E. Lawrence went walking in Northern Syria, exploring the castles which he was so fascinated by, and keeping both a diary and photographic records. Presented here with 13 key photographs and letters to his mother, the diary shows the young Lawrence developing a strong respect for the Arab people, and already involved in regional politics. In addition to his archaeological work, he was, most probably, keeping an eye on the progress of the German railway to Baghdad. This intimate and detailed diary gives a revealing perspective on Lawrence before his life was transformed into a myth.