Lawrence of Arabia: Wadi Rum, Seville and Almería

This is the film's desert. Lawrence passed through Wadi Rum several times during the Arab Revolt of 1917–18, and David Lean filmed much of the 1962 epic here. Those desert scenes kick-started Jordan's tourism industry, and the valley is now home to the Zalabieh tribe, who run eco-adventure tourism and services in the protected area.

Location precision: The film does not tie its desert scenes to one spot; the pin marks the valley as a whole.

Visitor guidance: Local Zalabieh guides and services run trips in the protected area.

The production had to be moved to Spain due to cost and outbreaks of illness among the cast and crew. Here in Almería Lean filmed the execution of Gasim, the train attacks and the Deraa exteriors. In the story, Lawrence is shaken when he must execute Gasim to prevent a conflict between Feisal's men and Auda's. Tabernas has been a popular place to shoot films since the 1950s.

Location precision: Scenes were shot across the Almería region, not at one site; the pin marks the Tabernas Desert.

History first, then the film. In 1917 the last Turkish post on the way, Khadra, surrendered on 6 July, and Aqaba and the sea now lay open. Days earlier, Lawrence was nearly killed in a charge after he accidentally shot his own camel in the head. The film heavily fictionalises the battle: Lawrence and Auda capture Aqaba, but there is no gold.

Location precision: The pin marks the town of Aqaba; the campaign's final fighting is described only along the road toward it.

The film never shot at Aqaba itself. Instead, the attack on Aqaba was reconstructed in a dried river bed in Playa del Algarrobico, southern Spain. The set consisted of more than 300 buildings and was meticulously based on the town's appearance in 1917. This is a filming stop, not a historical one: the real town is in Jordan.

Location precision: The set was temporary; the pin marks the beach near the published coordinates, not any surviving structure.

Seville played Cairo, Jerusalem and Damascus. The Plaza de España, designed by Aníbal González, stood in for the British headquarters in Cairo, where General Allenby promotes Lawrence to major and backs the Arabs with arms and money. The plaza is a vast half-circle reached by four bridges over a moat, one for each of Spain's ancient kingdoms.

Visitor guidance: The plaza stands at the edge of Seville's Maria Luisa Park.

The same city doubled for Jerusalem. The Casa de Pilatos appears in the film as the British headquarters there. Begun in 1483, the palace was named "Pilate's House" after a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1519, which makes it a fitting Jerusalem stand-in.

The film ends in Damascus, where the tribesmen bicker constantly, the public utilities fail and the understaffed hospitals barely function. Feisal then discards Lawrence's dream of Arab independence in exchange for British support. The Alcázar of Seville served as Damascus' town hall courtyard.