Seven Pillars of Wisdom · Chapter
XX explained
Lawrence adopts Arab dress on Feisal's advice, visits Nakhl Mubarak and Bruka, then returns to Yenbo to prepare its defense.
What happens
Lawrence adopts Arab dress on Feisal's advice, visits Nakhl Mubarak and Bruka, then returns to Yenbo to prepare its defense. Feisal's forces retreat after a battle with the Turks, but the Juheina tribe's apparent betrayal is explained. Yenbo is fortified with naval support, and a night attack is averted when the Turks are deterred by the sight of the ships and searchlights.
Themes in this chapter
Identity and Betrayal
Lawrence adopts Arab dress to blend in, and the Juheina's apparent defection raises questions of loyalty.
War and Guerrilla Tactics
Defense of Yenbo uses naval artillery, fortifications, and diversionary attacks, highlighting irregular warfare.
Suffering and Endurance
The exhaustion of troops after battle, Lawrence's lack of sleep, and the strain of constant alarms.
Characters to notice
- T.E. Lawrence
Agrees to wear Arab clothes, visits villages, returns to Yenbo, oversees defense preparations, and sleeps on the Suva.
- Emir Feisal
Offers Lawrence Arab dress, leads forces in battle, retreats to Yenbo, and coordinates defense.
- Sherif Zeid
Leads a beaten force into Yenbo, remains indifferent, and jokes about the town's condition.
- Sherif Abd el Kerim el Beidawi
Explains the Juheina's retreat for coffee, fights the Turks through the night.
- Old Dakhil-Allah
Guides the Turks but advises them against attacking due to the naval display.
- Garland
Serves as engineer-in-chief for Yenbo's fortifications.
- Captain Boyle
Promises naval support and concentrates five ships at Yenbo.
- Rasim
Fights the Egyptian artillery with enthusiasm despite defective equipment.
Key passages
“Suddenly Feisal asked me if I would wear Arab clothes like his own while in the camp.”
Feisal suggested Lawrence adopt Arab attire to improve relations with the tribes.
Lawrence agrees, noting the practical and symbolic benefits.
“Feisal and I lay back and laughed: then we went to see what could be done to save the town.”
After hearing Abd el Kerim's excuse, they laughed and then focused on defending Yenbo.
The humor relieves tension after the battle's confusion.
“Their hearts had failed them at the silence and the blaze of lighted ships from end to end of the harbour, with the eerie beams of the searchlights revealing the bleakness of the glacis they would have to cross.”
The Turks were intimidated by the silent, illuminated naval force and turned back.
Lawrence credits this as the moment the Turks lost the war.