Saudi Ministry of Tourism to renovate house of “Lawrence of Arabia” in Yanbu
By Marwa Mahmoud
The Saudi Ministry of Tourism decided to renovate the house of “Lawrence of Arabia” in Yanbu to receive tourists, with the aim of stimulating tourism in that region.
Restoration of “Lawrence of Arabia” house in Yanbu
The British intelligence officer Thomas Edwar Lawrence, known as “Lawrence of Arabia”, lived in this house on the eve of his campaign in the desert in 1916, when his forces were stationed for a short period in the port of Yanbu overlooking the Red Sea during the period of the Great Arab Revolt during the fighting against the Ottoman Empire in World War I. .
The house consists of two floors, and it has been abandoned for many years to the point of spreading horrific stories about it being haunted by ghosts, but Ahmed Al Mahtout, the mayor of Yanbu, has officially announced that the house will be ready to receive tourists by the end of this year after the completion of the restoration process, as part of the Kingdom’s plan To attract tourists again, while taking the necessary precautions and measures to prevent the outbreak of the emerging coronavirus infection disease.
Who is Lawrence of Arabia?
Thomas Edward Lawrence is a British officer famous for his role in supporting the Arab forces during the Arab revolt of 1916 against the Ottoman Empire through his participation in the life of the Arabs, and at that time he was known as Lawrence of Arabia. No equivalent can appear to him, no matter what the need is for him.
In 2014, the remains of the secret Lawrence of Arabia camp were found in a remote area in the desert of Jordan, close to the border with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Lawrence was using the secret camp in which he lived between 1917 and 1918 as a launching pad for the guerrilla war against the Ottoman forces and cut off their supply, which led to forces victory of the Great Arab Revolt.
Lawrence returned to England after the end of the war. In 1920 he began writing his famous book “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom” until he finished it in 1925.
Lawrence then joined the Royal Air Force, under a pseudonym. In fact, he suffered a lot of stress as a result of the difficult life he lived, especially after he became wanted by the Arabs opposed to the Sharif Hussein revolution and it was revealed that he was an agent of British intelligence, and in 1934 he received a warning that he would be dismissed from the Royal Air Force, which caused him a nervous breakdown.
Lawrence spent the rest of his life in a cabin in North Bovington. In 1935, he died at the age of forty-six after falling from his motorcycle, which he was driving at great speed in the vicinity of Oxford city, as he was returning home from the post office in an accident that was said to have been fabricated.
