Wadi Rum
A desert valley in southern Jordan whose ancient inscriptions some scholars think may preserve the name of Iram.
- Location
- Southern Jordan, near the Saudi border
- Modern country
- Jordan
- Type
- Sandstone and granite desert landscape
- Heritage
- Petroglyphs and inscriptions spanning about 12,000 years
- Scripts
- Thamudic, Nabataean, Greek and Arabic
- Status
- UNESCO World Heritage, mixed cultural and natural (2011)
What is Wadi Rum known for?
Wadi Rum is a protected desert area in southern Jordan of narrow gorges, sandstone mountains and natural arches. Its rock surfaces carry thousands of petroglyphs and inscriptions in Thamudic, Nabataean, Greek and Arabic, recording about 12,000 years of human presence. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.
The Nabataeans, the people of Petra, built a temple to the goddess Allat near the spring at Rum. Some scholars argue that Iram, the 'city of pillars' of the people of 'Ad in the Qur'an, preserves the name of this region, which appears in ancient sources in forms close to Iram. Others prefer the Shisr site in Oman, and many treat Iram as a tribe or region rather than a city.
Wadi Rum is also known from T. E. Lawrence's wartime memoir and as a film location for desert and Mars scenes.
Inscriptions from the Wadi Rum area may preserve the ancient name of Iram.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit hole'Ad and Iram of the Pillars
Sources
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