Join me in Arabia

During our days off, we loved to hang out at the seaside or the sides of the Obhur Creek, north of Jeddah.

At both sides of the Creek, resorts were build with either private cabins or beach houses, or rentable cabins.

Obhur Creek seen from the plane.

The Red Sea Coastline.

Dessert and mountains meeting the Red Sea.

The Red Sea.

The days there were spend with snorkling, diving, waterski, swimming, sailing and barbecues.

Aiga island.

Travelling southwards to the city of Jubail, you can find beautiful aquatic life.

Five important coral atolls are found there, named Harqus, Karan, Kurayn, Jana and Jurayd. It is also a protected breeding ground for turtels.

The corals are extensive and colourful, so is the fish life. Sweetlips, Angelfish, Parrotfish, Lobsters and Octopus are only a few of the fishtypes that are living here.

Another beautiful coral rich area are the Farasan Banks, or islands, which is a 90 minute ferry journey from the city of Gizan. The islands are lumps of coral that are barely a few meters above the water. The beaches are made of dead coral, and vary from smooth white beaches to rough sand. The main city is Farasan.

The true beauty is underwater: an abundance of coral reefs, flying rays, dolphins, sea turtles, whale sharks and flamingos.

Seaturtle

A Dugong, a seacow.

We lived in Jeddah, the second largest city of Saudi Arabia, situated at the coast of the Red Sea, in the Tihama region. The Tihama region is divided in two parts, Tihamat al Hejaz (northern part) and Tihamat Asir (southern part). The Tihama region had also been known as the Kingdom of Hejaz, that was ruled by the Hashemite family, the ruling family of Jordan, today. The region became independent from the Ottoman Empire, in WW 1. In 1925 it merged with the Sultanate of Nejd, that was ruled by the house of Saud, and in 1925 Saudi Arabia was born as a state due to this merger. Tihama in Arabic meand severe heat and lack of wind. Probably some of the hottest temperatures on earth are found here.

Bab el Mandeb.

Jeddah was said to have been a small fisherman village of the Qua'a tribe. Due to its strategic location it grew quickly into a centre of commerce with trade between the Mediterranean countries and Eastern countries. With the massive arrival of pilgrims for the Hajj in Mecca, the city was declared the official port of the Holy Cities, Mecca and Medina.

The Kingdom of Hejaz.

The old Jeddah.

It first received the name Bilad al kanasil, city of consulates, or Al Balad, which is still the name of the only remaining ancient area of Jeddah.

At the moment this beatiful part of Jeddah is on the nomination to be registered in the Unesco's world heritage list. It is in a very bad state, apart from some buildings, and would need a lot of restauration.

The houses are made of coral, which is largely found in the Red Sea.

Al Balad is divided into four neighbourhoods:

Harat Alsham, the north neighbourhood

Harat Al Yaman, the south neighbourhood

Harat Mazloum, the east neighbourhood

Harat Al Bahr, the Sea neighbourhood

Al Balad exists out of many small alleys, two well known ones are the alley of perfumers and the "hug me alley"

In many newly build houses and a shopping centre these wooden windows are being used by architects to create a beautiful effect, combining history with the present.

Some of the old houses in Al Balad have been restorated. One of them is Al Naseef house, that also is a museum now. It is located in Suq Al Alawi.

The Suq.

The Suq is a place in Al Balad where mostly traditional shops are found. One part is the famous gold Suq.

The souq (market) in Jeddah is divided into many parts all with its own name. The four main ones are Soukh al Alawi, Soukh al Badu, Soukh Gabel and Soukh al Nada. Soukh al Badu sells crafts and products of the bedouins. The Fish market is found in Soukh al Bankalah, saddles for donkeys, mules and horses were manufactured in the Sharbatly building and sold at Soukh Baragheeya. Besides there is a gold souq, a perfume souq and an evening souqh.

Khans are the small shops in the souq.

Another important historical building is the Madrassa al Falah, which was the first organised school in Jeddah. It was sponsored by a prominent local pearl trader, who seeked permission from the Ottoman Governor, when Jeddah was still under Ottoman power, to open the school. It is said that his wife sold her jewellery in order to fund the school.

The beautiful entrance of Madrassa al Falah.

The building itself

The new Jeddah.

The new Jeddah shows a comletely different face to to the world. The tall modern office buildings and new houses don't have much in common with the old city center.

On the Seaside the 30 km long Corniche Road was created. Also a large number of unique statues were made for decoration. Since the making of statues of humans is a forbidden thing, this way the city provided for a unique decoration.