After audiences returned from intermission, Thomas showed them how Arabia and its people were different. This landscape was full of odd and exotic practices and customs. Thomas helped audiences recall the Arabia of their ontological cultural knowledge by exploring a land frozen in time. Unlike the West, the people of this ancient land had not developed and thus, were windows to an immature past. Audiences learned that, “According to tradition these nomads of Arabia are the descendants of Abraham through his son Ishmael and they have changed very little in the past four thousand years since the time of Abraham.” Audiences were fascinated and viewed the Arab as they would a museum exhibit — gaining valuable knowledge of others in order to contextualize their sense of self.

The Arabs in Thomas's performance were childlike and captivated with small trinkets. Dressing in Arab dress, like Richard Burton and Bayard Taylor, Lawrence acted as a safe medium though which audiences could explore this scary yet titillating world. The contradictory blonde, blue-eyed Bedouin was celebrated for his enlightened leadership which enabled the Arabs to free themselves from the Turks.