Wadi Rum

Wadi Rum, in the south of Jordan, almost due east of Aqaba is perhaps most associated with T E Lawrence and the Arab uprising during World War I.

I wasn't sure what to expect here, but the scenery is quite breathtaking, high mountains and red, red sand dotted with tamarisk, wild fig and acacia trees. Not a place to lose your way.

Apparently during the filming of Lawrence of Arabia David Lean had all the tamarisk pulled out to make the scene more authentic looking!

This photo looks across the desert, but behind me is another range of mountains, limestone atop igneous rock. Where the two meet and the water permeating the limestone runs along the line of the impermeable rock lots of shrubs grow. There is a spring, called Lawrence's Spring, which now supplies water to the local Bedu population.

Rock carvings have been dated to approximately 300BCE and are thought to be in in a script used by the Nabateans, which seems to have some similarities with Greek.