Arabian Knight

Lawrence of Arabia — soldier, swashbuckler, scholar — is one of the 20th century's most compelling adventurers. The exploits of the British officer and military strategist during the Arab Revolt of 1916-18 inspired David Lean's 1962 film, and Lawrence's vivid memoir of Arab guerrilla warfare in the book Seven Pillars of Wisdom has become suggested reading for British military personnel in Iraq. Though it's been 70 years since he died on May 19, 1935, in a motorcycle accident near his home in Dorset, England, T.E. Lawrence's popularity endures. In October, the exhibition, "Lawrence of Arabia: The Life, the Legend," opens at London's Imperial War Museum. But for those who want to literally follow in his footsteps, here are a few places to go:

JORDAN
Lawrence fought key battles of the Arab Revolt in 1917 in the desert landscape of Wadi Rum, 50 km northeast of the Red Sea port of Aqaba. Tourists can go on multiday camel or jeep safaris and spend the night in Bedouin tents on the sands of the parched Wadi, below imposing sandstone mountains. Captain's Desert Camp (tel: [962-3] 201 6905; www.captains-jo.com) offers desert tent accommodation, while Bedouin Roads (tel: [962] 795 899 723); www.bedouinroads.com) has local guides for mountain hikes.

SYRIA
In 1917, Lawrence joined Arabs in dynamiting the Hejaz Railway, which was built by the Ottoman Turks to carry Muslim pilgrims from Syria to holy sites and act as a supply route. But one 320-km stretch is still intact, and several times a week you can take the journey between Damascus and Amman,

Jordan (minimum duration is seven hours), passing sites that would have been familiar to Lawrence. Sitting in the sidings at Amman station are coaches recognizable from the era. In its heyday, the train carried up to 300,000 pilgrims to the annual Hajj in Mecca; now only a few passengers make the trip, which is operated by Hejaz Jordan Railway (tel: [962-6] 489 5413).

ENGLAND
Lawrence's brick cottage at Clouds Hill in Wareham, 14 km east of Dorchester, is now under the care of the National Trust (tel: [44-1929] 405616; www.nationaltrust.org.uk). The rooms are much as he left them before his sudden death, including his gramophone and re-created record collection. The charity is working to restock the library with his original books, too. And if you see a ghostly apparition dressed in Arab robes, legend has it that it's the swashbuckler himself.