As cinema-lovers prepare for a special showing of David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia, Steve Pratt travels to Jordan to visit scenes made famous by the film.

OUR rebellion was staged as we were travelling along the desert highway to Wadi Rum. We'd been promised a night sleeping under the stars and, if it was good enough for Lawrence of Arabia, it was good enough for a bunch of British travellers in modern-day Jordan.

One of the group went to persuade our guide Ali to restore the camping experience which had disappeared from our itinerary. This was possibly the first time journalists had rejected a night in a five-star hotel in favour of roughing it.

Our resting place for the night was the Captain's Desert Camp, an oasis of tents surrounded by a moonscape of sand and cliffs of sandstone rock as far as the eye could see.

Watch out for scorpions and snakes, warned the guide book, although the most dangerous creatures were the German tourists who decided to occupy our tents.

Most of us opted to abandon these shelters. Some dragged beds outside into the open. Others bedded down on the couches where we'd earlier enjoyed an alfresco Bedouin feast. We slept fitfully, watching the moon and stars being replaced by the rising sun and clear blue sky. There's something calming and reassuring lying there looking up at the night sky. You feel as though you're in the middle of nowhere - which, of course, you are - far away from the ills of the world.

Our rebellion was a minor skirmish in a country locked in the much larger conflict in the Middle East. Look at Jordan, bordered by Iraq and Israel, and holiday isn't the first thing that springs to mind. Packing a bulletproof vest rather than sun block would seem the wisest move.

Jordan is not a country at war, but is suffering from the neighbouring conflicts. Empty hotels and the absence of crowds at Petra are evidence that foreign tourism has dropped alarmingly since the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York. Uncertainty over possible US action in Iraq continues to affect the Jordanian tourist industry at a time when Aqaba is being developed as a sun, sea and diving resort.

The Minister of Tourism, who was staying at our hotel and took time out to speak to us, couldn't deny the fall in numbers of foreign tourists, with France, Germany and the UK leading the way. All is not gloom and doom, he said, the regional market was up 25 per cent.

"We are living as normal a life as possible. That's not easy to get across, to get rid of preconceptions," he admitted.

You'd hardly know Jordan was in the middle of a hot spot. The port of Aqaba itself is being developed as a special economic zone. Four and five-star hotels are springing up in that city as well as Amman and Petra. The desert region is being opened up, taking care not to harm the natural environment.

One way to entice visitors is a theme trip. Ours followed in the footprints of TE Lawrence, marking the 40th anniversary of David Lean's film Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O'Toole.

Opinions differs as to how much ordinary Jordanians are aware of Lawrence. One person said he was hardly mentioned in history lessons in schools. Another suggested that the Jordanian man in the street knew all about his influence.

Whatever the truth, Lawrence is a fascinating peg on which to hang a trip to Jordan. He was a British soldier who played a key role in the Arab revolt against the Turks in the First World War, a campaign he chronicled in his book The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

Much of Lean's film was shot in Jordan, notably at Wadi Rum. The blessing of young King Hussein gave the makers the use of camel-riders of the Desert Patrol and the co-operation of hundreds of Bedouin tribesmen. Filming was tough because of remote locations and temperatures rising to 126 degrees in the shade.

After a four-hour flight from Heathrow, our first stop on the Lawrence trail was Amman, Jordan's capital and home to about a quarter of the country's 4.6 million population.

An old Hejaz railway steam locomotive and carriages were brought back into service to recreate one of the attacks by El Aurens. The train chugged and swayed through the city's crowded residential area, puffing out black smoke that obscured rows of basic houses.

Suddenly, half a dozen horsemen galloped alongside the moving train, waving rifles in the air. Their leader climbed aboard, grabbed a female traveller and carried her off. Happily, not only was she later returned safely but the mock attack didn't involve blowing up the train, as Lawrence would have done.

Several hours' drive from Amman lies Petra and the site they call the Eighth Wonder of the World, the main reason people journey to Jordan. The ruined city didn't feature in Lawrence Of Arabia, although it can be glimpsed in Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade.

Abandoned in the late Eighth Century, Petra was rediscovered in 1812. Hidden inside a narrow gorge, it takes three days to explore the temples, monasteries, and houses carved into the pink rocks.

Heading off to Aqaba, we stopped in the desert to view the Seven Pillars, the "vast, echoing and godlike" rock formation that lent its name to Lawrence's book. A visitors' centre is under construction, a sign that Jordan aims to capitalise on his name.

In Aqaba, or "the 13th Century beach resort" as the city is being touted, archaeologists have recently discovered what they believe to be the world's oldest church. But the main reasons for tourists to visit are the year-round warm climate and crystal clear water ideal for diving and water sports.

Strolling around the city and public beaches, you could be a million miles away from a world at war. Our stay ended with a concert and gala dinner at Aqaba Castle, another landmark associated with Lawrence and the Arab revolt. The Hashemite coat of arms was placed about the main doorway during the conflict, marking the re-emergence of a city that had been a fishing village of little significance for 400 years.

Aqaba was the centre of one of the film's most famous scenes, where mounted Arab forces charged through the city of Aqaba and the Turks' camp to the sea. Even 40 years ago, the city was too modern for the scene. So Lean filmed the sequence in Spain.

* The Jordan Tourism Board on 0207 371 6496 has details of tour operators to the country.

* City Screen in York has a special 70mm - the biggest film format - presentation of Lawrence Of Arabia on Sunday, October 13 at 2pm.