I recently had the pleasure of traveling to Jeddah, one of the Kingdom’s “hot spots” for tourism. Although I’ve been in the Kingdom for three and a half years, I had yet to visit this diving paradise until a couple of weeks ago.
Located on the Red Sea, Jeddah is known for it’s relaxed atmosphere, beautiful corniche and world class diving. I have to say, however, I didn’t really know what to expect. Are the people really that different? Is the culture more open? Is there anything fun to do there? The answer is yes!
Jeddah is about 2,500 years old and was a fishing village that the tribes of Quda’a first settled in. For many years it was the official port into Saudi Arabia for pilgrims arriving to perform Hajj and Omra in Mecca.
Welcome to Jeddah!We arrived on a Wednesday evening and transferred to our hotel,
Al Bilad.We could feel the difference in the humidity before we got off the plane. A shuttle for the hotel greeted us, which was great! No taxi fare! This service is included in the room charge at Al Bilad.
We ate dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. I have to recommend eating somewhere a bit more local than this American chain that had slow service (despite our group of 12 being almost the only ones there!) and the food wasn’t anything special. One of our taxi drivers recommended a place called Al Wadaa for dinner, which is along the north end of the corniche. Apparently it has plenty of seafood and other fresh favorites and patrons can sit out on a patio that overlooks the sea. I think I’ll check it out next time I go!
Thursday morning my mom and I hired a taxi recommended by the hotel to take us around town. We drove along the corniche stopping every so often to shoot photos and appreciate the endless sculptures and works of art throughout the city.
One of my favourite pieces of art in the city is a row of giant lanterns that light up in the evening. They’re absolutely gorgeous!
Another interesting attraction is the floating mosque, which is located on the corniche and is on stilts in the water.
A brilliant section of downtown is Al Balad, which is the old city area of Jeddah. It’s full of old mud houses that in some cases are several stories high. The buildings have been around for more than 200 years, and although some of them show their age, they’re doing quite well for having been made of wooden beams and blocks constructed of sand from the sea.
We stopped briefly at the antique souk, but found that many of the wares are from other parts of the Middle East, such as Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. There weren’t many items that were native to Jeddah, or even Saudi Arabia for that matter. Although we didn’t explore any of the other souks, supposedly the carpet and handicraft souks are excellent and have some of the best shopping (souk-wise) in the Kingdom.
The people in Jeddah are very different from those in Riyadh. They don’t stare or gawk at tourists. No one told us not to take photos and everyone behaved quite openly and civilly to us. The general atmosphere is very relaxed and people seem to take the time to enjoy life in Jeddah. The traffic (although still terrible) is definitely a few steps above Riyadh and you’re surprised to find drivers actually give way some of the time! It’s as though you’re not in Saudi Arabia anymore!
After our morning of touring the city we decided it was time to hit the beach. Al Bilad Hotel (like many hotels in Jeddah) has its own private beach to which they provide a free shuttle several times per day.
We hopped on and in 20 minutes we were standing on a private beach full of people all dressed in swimming attire. Saudis and expats alike hung up their abayas and thobes to enjoy the sun, sand and water.
I had never really been snorkeling before, so having my first experience be in the Red Sea was a treat to say the least. As soon as I put my face in the water an entirely new and breathtaking world appeared before me.
Fish swam right up to my face as I explored the beautiful multi-coloured coral and sea life.I was hooked! The next day we took the early bus after breakfast and spent the entire day snorkeling and relaxing on the beach. With food and drinks on the beach and plenty of sun there’s no need to leave, unless you’re catching a flight that night back to Riyadh!
A weekend away in Jeddah makes one appreciate some of the amazing things we can find in the Kingdom. We as expats are very lucky to experience treasures such as the un-touched parts of the Red Sea, where tourists outside of the Kingdom will never get the opportunity.
So, for all you Riyadh dwellers that are looking for a peaceful, relaxing and truly refreshing weekend away within the Kingdom check out Jeddah.
PS. I hear the malls are amazing! I thought fans of this blog would be especially interested in that fact! I think I’ll make the effort to include retail therapy in my next trip there!
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Nikoll Long aka BB (Blonde Bombshell)You can view more of Nikoll's beautiful photograph portfolio at her website:Nikoll Long Photography
Website: www.nikolllong.comEmail: contact@nikolllong.com
