COUNTRY
Jordan
LOCATION
Wadi Rum
YEAR
2011
SUBJECT
Landscapes
Wadi Rum (Valley of the Moon) lies in the far south of Jordan, set on a high plateau at the western edge of the Arabian desert. Gargantuan rock formations, rippled sand dunes, and clear night skies create an almost fairy-tale setting across an uninhabited area the size of New York City, this 278-square-mile protected area appears about as Martian as you’re likely to find on Earth. A truly exceptional barren desert landscape. The strong red colours (iron oxide rich sands) and monumental sandstone cliffs and valleys provide spectacular scenery concentrated over a relatively small area. What’s sweet about this place is that every time somebody wanted to shoot a movie depicting mars or something out of this world this was the location they picked. Here are some of the movies that where shot here:
- Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
- Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
- Prometheus (2012)
- The Martian (2015)
- Rogue One: Star Wars (2016)
- Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker (2019)
- Aladdin (2019)
- Dune (2020)
“Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven’t the answer to a question you’ve been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you’re alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully.”
~Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
