5 Hollywood movies that were filmed in the Arab world

The Middle East and North Africa region has long been a preferred location for many Hollywood productions. 

Here are five Hollywood movies that were partially or almost entirely filmed in the region. 

Location: Tunisia

After the war tears Italy apart in 1944, a nurse on a mobile army medical unit, who’s lost her passion for life, volunteers to take care of a semi-amnesiac dying patient; his situation is dire, being English and married is all he can remember.

The drama, war film was released in 1996. Although the sensational  romance was set in Egypt, Libya, and Italy, Tunisia provided the perfect location to portray Cairo during WWII. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Bionche, and Willem Dafoe, The English Patient won 9 Academy Award including Best Picture and Best Original Score by Lebanese-French composer Gabriel Yared. 

Location: Jordan

Mark (Matt Damon) is abandoned on Mars after his crew believed he was killed in a storm on the red planet. Throughout the film he tries to find a way to signal to Earth that he’s still alive. The Marian is an emotional story about integrity, survival, and finding a way through pain and fear.

The 2015 blockbuster was almost entirely filmed in Jordan’s magnificent Wadi Rum. It made $630.2 million at the box office. The Martian is based on a novel by Andy Weir and directed by Ridley Scott. It received several accolades, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. 

Location: UAE

Deckard Shaw played by Jason Statham, Owen's older brother from Furious 6, is thirsty for revenge and goes after Vin Diesel's character Dominic Toretto, Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) and the rest of the crew. In order to defeat Shaw, the crew collaborate with a government agent and help him rescue a kidnapped computer hacker who has developed a powerful surveillance program.

This 2015 action thriller film was the seventh among the Fast and Furious series and the last for actor Paul Walker, who died in an unfortunate accident that same year, before the film's premiere.

Location: Morocco

Village blacksmith Balian (Orlando Bloom), who is mourning over the loss of his wife, joins his long-estranged father, Baron Godfrey (Liam Neeson), as a crusader on the road to Jerusalem. The journey to the holy city is long and perilous, but after finally arriving he meets King Baldwin IV (Edward Norton), which is rife with dissent led by the treacherous Guy de Lusignan (Marton Csokas), who wishes to wage war against the Muslims for his own political and personal gain.

Kingdom of Heaven is directed by Ridley Scott, whose work include Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and Alien. The film's cast include actress Eva Green, Liam Neeson, David Thewlis, Ghassan Massoud, and Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Filming took place in Ouarzazate, Morocco and in Spain. 

Location: Egypt

Megalomaniac Karl Stromberg plans to destroy the world and create a brand-new civilization under the sea. To put a stop to Stromberg and his plan, agent Bond, played by Roger Moore, teams up with Russian counterpart, Anya Amasova, portrayed by Barbarra Bach.

The 1977's hit made a whopping $185.4 million at the box office with a budget of just $14 million. The Spy Who Loved Me is the tenth film in the James bond series and the third to star Roger Moore as James Bond.

Although it takes the name of Ian Fleming's novel, the movie doesn’t follow the novel’s original story-line. The Spy Who Loved Me was nominated for the Academy’s Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Music, Original Song, and Original Score as well. It was shot on location in Egypt, Italy and the Bahamas.