Wadi Rum

About

Carved into the sandstone and granite rock, Wadi Rum is the largest valley in Jordan. The quintessential desert landscape with scorching days and freezing nights, this unforgiving environment has somehow been inhabited since prehistory. The awe-inspiring landscape is best known for its connection with British officer T. E. Lawrence, who was here on several occasions during the Arab Revolt of 1917–18, and much of Lawrence of Arabia was filmed here. When Matt Damon was filming the Martian here, he said it was “like nothing I’ve ever seen anywhere else on Earth”, which might explain why it’s been a filming location for Sci-Fi movies including Star Wars: Rogue One, and the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and perhaps most telling, as Arrakis in the 2020 Dune movie.