a Geographer's Place

After two full days in Petra (and some sore legs from all the hiking), we headed to Wadi Rum after a leisurely breakfast. One of the few UNESCO natural and cultural sites, Wadi Rum represents an outstanding example of melding both: there are flora, fauna, and amazing geomorphology, coupled with not just historic Bedouin people and tribes, but also rock art (mainly petroglyphs) that span from Neolithic to contemporary times. Between Petra and Aqaba, and a short drive from the Desert Highway, Wadi Rum puts you smack in the middle of a place so foreign, that it has been used as the setting for the planet Mars in several movies ( The Martian , starring Matt Damon et al. was filmed here, as was Red Planet , starring Val Kilmer, et al., Lawrence of Arabia , and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen are among the list). It’s not difficult to imagine being on the red planet when you’re in Wadi Rum. At first glance, Wadi Rum might seem familiar, especially for those who have visited the US...