Wadi Rum

Contrary to what you might think, there is a lot to see in Wadi Rum. Despite being a desert, the rich history of this place means that there are also corners worth visiting from an archaeological, artistic and ethnological point of view. Not surprisingly, this place was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2011.

Most things to see in Wadi Rum They are natural, especially geological, as they are like whimsical formations in granite and sandstone. But there are also man-made ‘works’ worth dwelling on. We group them according to their theme:

• Rock bridges: they are one of the most recurrent postcards, so you can not miss in this list of things to see in Wadi Rum. They have been created by differential wind erosion, which acts differently in granite and sandstone. The most famous are the Little Rock, the um Fruth and, above all, the Burdah bridge, since its ‘arch’ is about 80 meters above the ground.
• 
  Siqs
  or cannons: as we said, Wadi Rum has a wide variety of
  siqs
  and rocky canyons, which can be explored on foot or by camel in a pleasant way thanks to its shade and its greater sensation of freshness in summer. These are the most important:
  • Khazali Canyon: is a fissure that goes into the Jbel Khazali. It has a length of about 150 meters, with great wealth of petroglyphs (ostriches, a woman in childbirth, etc.)
  • Makharas Canyon: Goes Deep into the Seven Pillars of Wisdom
  • Barrah Canyon: one of the longest, as it has a length of about 5 km
  • Khazareh Canyon: Enters the Jbel um Al Ishirn
  • Rakhabat Canyon, inside the same mountain (Jbel um Al Ishirn)
  • um Tawaqi Canyon: famous, among other reasons, for recent rock-cut portraits of Lawrence of Arabia and other characters of the Arab Rebellion
• Dunes: when someone thinks of the desert, especially a desert as iconic as Wadi Rum, he usually visualizes in his mind large expanses of dunes, that is, ‘seas’ of fine golden sand that take the form of hills or mounds according to the whims of the wind. In Wadi Rum, to be honest, it is not the most common landscape, but there is no shortage of them either. We can highlight those that are created on the Jbel um Ulaydiyya, of a reddish color. It forms a natural slope that can be climbed on foot
• Archaeological sites and petroglyphs: they are testimonies of the passage and settlement of men from different eras in Wadi Rum. They often concentrate on the ‘friendlier’ parts of the reserve, such as its canyons, but there are also other signs of ancient human life elsewhere. These include:
  • Petroglyphs of Jbel um Al Ishrin, on the western face. They represent animals, but there is also Kufic script
  • Alameleh petroglyphs: they are among the most striking and best preserved, with hunting scenes, camel caravans and Nabataean inscriptions
  • Nabataean temple: located on a hill around the village of Wadi Rum. It is believed that it could have been built in the first centuries BC-I AD, and would be dedicated to the goddess Allat. It may seem like another archaeological site, in which you have to have some imagination to understand what it was, but its importance lies in the fact that it demonstrates the existence of a permanent Nabataean settlement.
  • Lawrence’s House: although theoretically inhabited by Lawrence, little remains of the building, which was built on the ruins of an earlier Nabataean construction
• Museums and visitable spaces: there is nothing more to see than Wadi Rum It is a place very little modified by man, where modern constructions are practically testimonial, very small. However, there are some small spaces to interpret the environment, which are worth visiting. Especially:
  • Visitor Center Museum: This visitor welcome space features a small museum that tells the human and environmental history of Wadi Rum, with information panels and an explanatory video in a screening room
  • Train station locomotives: time seems to have stopped on these rails, which were part of the only line of the Hijaz railway, an Ottoman project of the early twentieth century. The locomotives and wagons that rest here were restored only to be exhibited to visitors, who can enter them and take some vintage photos.
• Mountains and viewpoints: scattered throughout the reserve are spectacular mountains that rise towering over the plain. Climbing to its summits or to strategic points halfway up the slope has a prize: the panoramic views of the surroundings. Highlight:
  • Seven Pillars of Wisdom: probably the most iconic mountain in the reserve, as its proximity to the Visitor Center makes everyone see it. In addition, its unique shape, in what looks like a seven-part accordion bellows, earned it the name of Seven Pillars of Wisdom, in honor of the book written by T.E. Lawrence, key to publicizing this place in the West.
  • Jbel Rum: rises more than 1,750 meters above sea level and receives this name because it rises above the main population of the reserve. It is very popular with climbers
  • Jbel um Al Ishrin: very close to the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, it attracts attention because it seems to have 20 domes or domes of rock
  • Jbel Qatar: on its slopes are some of the best viewpoints from which to see Wadi Rum, especially during sunset
• Fountains and springs: finding water in such an arid place always produces a special feeling. In two points of the reserve you can live this emotion:
  • Ain Shalaaleh or Lawrence Lookout, which owes its name to an evocative description of the British archaeologist and military
  • Ain Abu Aineh: is a channeled natural source that has been used for thousands of years, and still today gives water to camels and other Bedouin animals