Wadi Rum in Hollywood. Jordan. Our days.

With Bedouin greetings from the sunny Jordanian desert of Wadi Rum, Gennady Ibn Petrov and I Larisa Ibn Sokolova.
In 2011, UNESCO included the Wadi Rum Reserve in the List of World Natural and Cultural Heritage.
The area of the rocky desert of Wadi Rum is about 720 km2.
Wadi is the Arabic name for valleys with dry or temporary watercourses. Wadis are filled with water only after heavy rains. The origin of the name Ram is unknown.
Studies of rock paintings and inscriptions found here indicate that the first human settlement in Wadi Ram appeared in the Ice Age, about ten to twelve thousand years ago.
Bedouin tribes migrated to this area in search of pastures for raising camels and sheep.
The life of these people and this valley changed dramatically with the arrival of Hollywood.
On 15 May 1961, the shooting of David Lean's epic film "Lawrence of Arabia" with Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif in the lead roles, in which Wadi Rum served as a backdrop for the main scenes of the film, began here.
The film, released in 1962, was a resounding success and won seven Academy Awards, and Wadi Rum became world famous.
However, it wasn't until 1984 that tourist activity began when a British team of climbers led by Tony Howard and Dee Taylor received permission from the Jordanian Ministry of Tourism to explore the mountaineering opportunities in and around Wadi Rum.
Howard and Taylor later wrote a book about the adventure called Hiking and Climbing in Wadi Rum, Jordan, which sparked tourism activity in the region. And Wadi Rum became at the forefront of popular tourist destinations for the first time.
Since then, the local Bedouins have witnessed and participated in a tourism boom that continues today. And today it is not mountaineers who mostly come here, but ordinary tourists. The places here are beautiful and romantic and you want to sing.
"A desert kiss after a hot summer,
You may be the only one who felt it.
You may be the only one who wanted to spend the evening
"To drink it all down with me."
Jordanian amateur art. Wadim Ram Desert.
In 1976, the first colour images of Mars were taken and they turned out to be very similar to the landscapes of Wadi Rum.
Since the science fiction thriller "Red Planet" by Anthony Hoffman was released in 2000, the Martian and alien landscapes of Hollywood films are increasingly shot in the Wadi Rum Desert, whose bizarre landscapes seem otherworldly and unearthly.
This uniqueness has made it the setting for science fiction and fantasy films.
Just listing the films shot here looks impressive.
Ridley Scott's blockbuster "The Martian" (2015) starring Matt Damon and his earlier sci-fi thriller "Prometheus."(2012); the science fiction horror film "Last Days on Mars" directed by Ruairi Robinson (2013); director Gareth Edwards' epic space opera "Star Wars: Outcast One" (2016); the remake of "Aladdin" (2019) directed by Guy Ritchie; "Star Wars. Episode IX. Skywalker. Rise" by J.J. Abrams; "Dune," an adaptation of Frank Herbert's science fiction novel from director Denis Villeneuve; and finally the mega-popular John Wick. Chapter 4 (2023) in which, in one of the key opening scenes of the film, John Wick rushes on horseback through the desert to hunt down one of the highest ranking members of the High Table, the Elder.
We didn't stay away either and shot scenes for the remake of the film White Sun of the Desert.
"Private Sukhov has arrived on your orders. Why did you come? They were shooting."
"Free woman of the East! How long have you been sitting here? I've been sitting here for a long time."