Wadi Rum means 'Valley of the Moon' in Arabic. It covers about 720 square kilometres — roughly the same size as a medium-sized city. The rocks there are some of the oldest in the world, formed hundreds of millions of years ago. Wind and water have spent all that time sculpting them into extraordinary shapes: natural arches, towering pillars, and caves with ancient rock paintings inside.
The best way to explore Wadi Rum is in an open jeep with a Bedouin guide. The Bedouin are a group of people who have lived in the desert for thousands of years. They know every rock, every hidden spring and every shortcut across the sand. At night, there are no city lights for many kilometres in any direction, so the stars overhead are some of the most spectacular on Earth.
Camels have also been used to travel through Wadi Rum for thousands of years because they can go for days without water. Today visitors can take short camel rides across the dunes. Some people even stay overnight in Bedouin tents made of goat hair, sleeping under a sky absolutely packed with stars.