Wadi Rum Protected Area

Sandstone mountains rise sheer from red sand in Wadi Rum, the desert T. E. Lawrence made legendary and film-makers use as a stand-in for Mars. Across 74,000 hectares of gorges, arches and cliffs, people have left their mark for 12,000 years — some 25,000 rock carvings and 20,000 inscriptions that even chart early steps toward the alphabet. UNESCO inscribed the protected area in 2011 in the mixed category, honouring natural grandeur and human record in one landscape.