Rose Desert Wadi Rum

"Wadi Rum" is located about 60 kilometers east of the Red Sea city of Aqaba and is the largest dry valley in the country, also known as the "Valley of the Moon." 2300 years ago, this was the territory of ancient cultures such as the Nabataean Kingdom, and there are still remnants of temples and rock paintings left by the Nabataeans. Today, it is inhabited by the Bedouins and is famous for its wine-red sand at sunset and moon-like surface. In 1917, British officer Thomas Edward Lawrence, known as "Lawrence of Arabia," negotiated with Arab leaders here to resist the rule of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. In 2011, UNESCO listed this rare natural and cultural dual landscape as a World Heritage Site. Stepping into this vast desert valley, the endless red sand and towering, rugged rocks make one feel as if they are on another marvelous planet. Although it is impossible to capture the elegant figure of the elusive Arabian oryx, one can touch the rock paintings and inscriptions in the heart of the desert to feel the long history; climb cliffs, race across the desert, witness the red sun and yellow sand, and gaze at the vast starry sky... The beauty of Wadi Rum and the simplicity of the local people will forever remain in one's heart. "The only thing worth leaving behind are footprints, you can't take anything away." — This is the poetic slogan on the ticket to the Valley of the Moon!