Sidebar: Wadi Rum and The King’s Highway
Our trip from Aqaba to Petra on August 28 traversed a land rich in both modern and ancient history.
As we started north from Aqaba, the highway ran just to the west of the mountains bordering the Wadi Rum. This area was made famous by the 1962 movie Lawrence of Arabia. Many recent movies have been filmed here, too, including Prometheus and The Martian. It has become a popular tourist destination for rock climbing, camping, four-wheeling, and camping.
Our route then joined up with Jordanian Highway 35, which follows the ancient King’s Highway that ran from Egypt to Damascus. This route has been in use for more than 5,000 years. It was a trade route long before the Israelites used it for their exodus from Egypt.
Along the highway is Mount Nebo, the place where Moses was said to have first seen the Promised Land and where he was buried. From our bus, we could also see Jebel Harun, which is topped by...