Malcom X
The biography of the black civil rights leader was the first non-documentary to be filmed in Mecca. An additional all-Muslim filming unit was used to facilitate shooting in the Islamic holy city, since it is off-limits to non-Muslims. Other Mecca scenes were filmed in Cairo, using a replica of the Saudi Arabian pilgrimage destination.
Lawrence of Arabia
Jordan was the setting for parts of the 1962 epic starring Peter O’Toole and Albert Finney. Antoinette Gardiner, a member of the production team, was courted by Jordanian royalty and married King Hussein, before giving birth to future monarch
King Abdullah.
Syriana
Matt Damon’s son dies in an electrified swimming pool at Dubai’s Royal Mirage Hotel in this geopolitical thriller, with the hotel filling in for Spanish resort Marbella. The emirate’s desert was the backdrop for the assassination of a Saudi prince, with Dubai Creek and the local Shangri-La Hotel also making it into the picture.
The Mummy and The Mummy Returns
Egypt features in these Stephen Sommers adventure films, with ancient Egyptian dialect used in the picture. An Egyptologist taught several cast members ancient Egyptian phonetics. A queen other than Nefertiti was picked out for the sequel to avoid the inevitable breast jokes.
The Bourne Ultimatum
The third film in the thriller trilogy sees ex-assassin Jason Bourne take the ferry to Tangiers in a bid to uncover his past. A roadside bomb and a chase through the rooftops and suburban homes of the crowded Moroccan tourist destination culminate in Matt Damon using a book and a towel to finish off a fellow assassin. Good times.
Code 46
Tim Robbins of The Shawshank Redemption fame stars in this futuristic love story set in a totalitarian future. Dubai’s desert is juxtaposed around Shanghai to create a hybrid city.
The Kingdom
Abu Dhabi doubles for Saudi Arabia in this 2007 popcorn flick, where Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner, along with the rest of their team from the FBI, teach the Arabs how to investigate an attack on a housing complex, by pointing out that they should dig through the massive crater left in its wake.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
In this 1989 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford stumbles upon the Holy Grail in Petra, Jordan. Unfortunately for him, a bunch of Nazis are after it too, reducing his sightseeing opportunities.
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