Novel Map (Interior, zoomed in)

[Coriolis]

I've been plugging away at the first interior map for my novel manuscript, and here's the latest version (version 3):

I used a few variations from Arsheesh's Eriond tutorial (my preferred technique/only method I have that looks decent). Since it's an interior map, it's a grayscale.

Topography is particularly important to the opening chapter of the story, so I did a lot of detail on the long, parallel ridges. The rock formations at Rum are based on the corresponding real-life Wadi Rum (A pretty amazing spot in Jordan). I tried to match reality as much as I could there. Everywhere else, I tried to show it as rugged terrain (rocky, uneven, and dry), but I was a lot looser with the particulars of the elevation contouring, especially in Sinai.

I opted to emboss the labels and icons, something I haven't done with the other maps I've made for this story. I made them semi-transparent because I thought they looked spiffy that way.

The Aqaba Ruins are meant to suggest a city long-since destroyed by a nuclear blast. I'm not fully satisfied with the look, but it may be the best I can get out of a grayscale map.

I'd welcome thoughts/suggestions on how I could improve this.

This was version 2 (An attempt at doing topography free-hand without using any tutorials), about six months old now:


This was the original version, done about 8 months back:

[Coriolis]

For comparison's sake, here are some larger-scale maps I made that include the same area: