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Michael Asher is a writer with a formidable pedigree for this task. He is a former paratrooper and member of the SAS, an Arabist and explorer of over 16,000 miles by camel and on foot. He is currently writing a new biography of T.E. Lawrence but what distinguishes him from former biographers is that Asher plans to check out the veracity of Lawrence’s exceptionally detailed accounts of his exploits by reliving them himself. He retraces the footsteps of Lawrence using the same methods of transport, equipment and resources Lawrence would have had in his day.
The programme takes Asher and his Arab co-traveller Sabbah ‘Eid, a descendant of Auda abu Tayi (one of the leaders of the Arab revolt), through the deepest deserts in the Middle East to the coast of Jordan. Along the way they find, still untouched from Lawrence’s days, remnants of Lawrence’s work, campaigns and life, including Turkish military trains that he destroyed through his guerrilla war tactics. This is a unique film about a man who has become synonymous with the history of the Middle East.
Awards: In Search of Lawrence won a BAFTA award for location sound recording