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Experience
The film locations of the Middle East have stood in for distant planets, ancient empires and fantasy kingdoms for more than sixty years. Here is where Dune, Star Wars and other blockbusters were shot, and how to visit them on a film-lover's journey.
Updated
At a glance
Directors come for landscapes no set designer could build: the red sandstone of Wadi Rum, the towering dunes of Liwa, the mud-brick kasbahs of southern Morocco and the rose-red facades of Petra. Add reliable winter sunshine, experienced local crews and generous production incentives, and the region has become one of the busiest filming destinations on earth.
Governments have invested seriously. The Abu Dhabi Film Commission offers a 35% cashback, rising to as much as 50% with uplifts, for qualifying productions since 2025. Jordan's Royal Film Commission raised its top rebate to 45% in 2025. Saudi Arabia, which offers a 40% rebate nationally, announced in 2026 that eligible local spending can earn as much as 60%, and has built studios at NEOM and AlUla.
For travelers, that means real places you can stand in. Base yourself in Abu Dhabi for Liwa, in a Wadi Rum desert camp for Jordan's alien worlds, and in Ouarzazate for Morocco's film country.
Denis Villeneuve filmed the desert planet in Abu Dhabi's Liwa dunes, on the edge of the Empty Quarter, and in Wadi Rum. Liwa's sweeping sand seas gave the films their scale; Wadi Rum's sandstone cliffs gave them texture.
The final chapter returned to Liwa in late 2025, after studio work in Budapest, with Abu Dhabi Film Commission support. It opens in US theaters on December 18, 2026.
Tunisia became the desert planet of the first Star Wars films. Visitors can see the Hotel Sidi Idriss cave dwelling in Matmata, the Mos Espa set near Ong Jemel outside Tozeur, the Lars homestead exterior on the edge of Chott el Djerid, and the ksour of Ksar Ouled Soltane and Ksar Haddada. See our Tunisia guide.
Abu Dhabi's desert stood in for a scavenger planet in the 2015 film, one of the productions that put the emirate on Hollywood's map.
Wadi Rum played a holy desert city in Rogue One and another desert world in The Rise of Skywalker. Local Bedouin guides know the exact valleys.
David Lean's 1962 epic filmed in Wadi Rum, where T. E. Lawrence had actually traveled, as well as in Morocco and Spain. It made the desert itself a star.
Wadi Rum's red sand and rock stood in for the surface of Mars, with interiors shot elsewhere. Some camps now offer Mars-themed domes.
Disney's live-action Aladdin filmed desert scenes in Wadi Rum; Ridley Scott's Prometheus also used the valley; and John Wick: Chapter 4 shot in Jordan as well.
The climax uses the facade of Al Khazneh, the Treasury, at the end of Petra's Siq. Walk the same path at dawn before the crowds; our Petra guide explains how.
Scenes set elsewhere in the region were filmed at Petra and in Wadi Rum.
Tom Cruise performed his famous climb on the outside of the world's tallest building, with helicopters granted special permission to film. The production spent about a month in Dubai. See our Dubai guide.
Both films shot sequences in Abu Dhabi, which hosted the Middle East premiere of Dead Reckoning Part One in 2023.
The Brad Pitt racing film shot on track during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend. Our Formula 1 guide covers race tickets.
Ridley Scott built vast sets around Ouarzazate for both films and used the UNESCO-listed ksar of Aït Benhaddou for their North African scenes.
In season three, the ramparts of Essaouira became a slave city, Aït Benhaddou played another, and Atlas Studios hosted further scenes.
AlUla's canyons and sandstone have hosted international features, including Kandahar, described as the first major feature filmed entirely in Saudi Arabia. See our AlUla guide.
The large-scale action epic directed by Rupert Wyatt and starring Anthony Mackie filmed at NEOM's studios and desert locations.
A Red Sea resort festival with red carpets by the lagoon. The ninth edition runs October 15 to 23, 2026. See our El Gouna guide.
Official site ↗The Arab world's oldest major film festival. The 47th edition runs November 11 to 20, 2026.
Official site ↗Organized by the Doha Film Institute, with screenings at Katara Cultural Village and across the city, and juries of young people aged 8 to 25. It runs November 19 to 27, 2026.
Official site ↗Gala screenings at the Palais des Congrès and free open-air films on Jemaa el-Fnaa square. The 23rd edition runs November 20 to 28, 2026. Stay at one of our Marrakech riads and hotels.
Official site ↗Held in the restored old town of Jeddah, the festival returns in the fourth quarter of 2027. Its Red Sea Fund and Red Sea Labs continue, and year-round programming begins at Culture Square in Historic Jeddah from November 2026.
Founded in 1983 and among the largest film studios in the world by area, it has hosted Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Babel and Game of Thrones. Guided tours run when no production is filming.
The emirate's film office, whose cashback program has drawn Dune, Star Wars, Mission: Impossible and F1. Its studio partner twofour54 operates production facilities on Yas Island.
Official site ↗Sound stages and production services for film, television and gaming, at the heart of Abu Dhabi's creative zone.
Official site ↗Sound stages, backlots and crew accommodation in the northwest of the Kingdom, opened in 2022 with a production rebate of at least 40%.
Two sound stages of about 25,000 square feet each, run by Film AlUla, with room to expand.
Official site ↗Supports productions in Wadi Rum, Petra and beyond, with a rebate of 25% to 45% of qualifying spend.
The national film authority, which says its incentives have attracted more than 64 local and international productions, with a goal of 100 films shot in the Kingdom by 2030.
A fortress-style resort deep in the Liwa dunes, the natural base for Dune country.
Official site ↗The hotel inside the tower Tom Cruise climbed. The hotel is closed for renovation and expected to reopen in March 2027; the tower’s At the Top observation decks remain open.
Official site ↗Steps from the entrance to the Siq and the Treasury.
Official site ↗A long-time favorite of visiting film crews, close to Atlas Studios.
The film boom brings studios, crews and creative businesses to the region, from Yas Island to NEOM. For the wider picture, see festivals and seasons, the events calendar and Abu Dhabi Luxury Real Estate on Saadiyat and Yas.
The desert scenes of Dune and Dune: Part Two were filmed in Abu Dhabi's Liwa desert and in Wadi Rum, Jordan; Dune: Part Three returned to Liwa. Liwa is about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Abu Dhabi city.
Yes. The Mos Espa set near Tozeur, the Lars homestead and Hotel Sidi Idriss in Matmata can all be visited, best with a local driver and a 4x4 for the desert sites.
Yes, guided tours run on days when no production is filming. It is an easy stop on the way between Marrakech and the Sahara; see our Ouarzazate guide.
Late October through December. El Gouna, Cairo, Doha and Marrakech all hold their festivals in that window, and the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah returns in late 2027.
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Checked October 2026. Prices and dates are approximate and can change. See our standard.