23 October 1916

“I felt at first glance that this was the man I had come to Arabia to seek — the leader who would bring the Arab Revolt to full glory. Feisal looked very tall and pillar-like, very slender, in his long white silk robes and his brown head-cloth bound with a brilliant scarlet and gold cord. His eyelids were dropped; and his black beard and colourless face were like a mask against the strange, still watchfulness of his body. His hands were crossed in front of him on his dagger.

“I greeted him. He made way for me into the room, and sat down on his carpet near the door. As my eyes grew accustomed to the shade, they saw that the little room held many silent figures, looking at me or at Feisal steadily. He remained staring down at his hands, which were twisting slowly about his dagger. At last he inquired softly how I had found the journey. I spoke of the heat, and he asked how long from Rabegh, commenting that I had ridden fast for the season.

” ‘And do you like our place here in Wadi Safra?’

” ‘Well; but it is far from Damascus.’ “

Events of 23 October 1916 as recounted by T. E. Lawrence in Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1926).

At Wadi Safra, Lawrence met the fourth of Sherif Hussein’s sons, and his quest to find a prophet to lead the Arab Revolt was over.