Friday, January 30th.
We left the hotel by 9 in a minibus to visit a few of the sights of Jeddah. Our first stop was the fish market. I always love watching these types of markets as they are authentic and it’s a glimpse into the local culture. This was not a disappointment. Today being Friday and their holy day, the place was extremely busy. The market is divided into four areas: 1) the auction area where early in the morning buyers can bid on lots of fish for the restaurants and stores; 2) the area where local people can buy and haggle for as much fish as they’d like; 3) the preparation area where fish butchers descale and cut the fish to the buyers request; and 4) an area where they will grill or cook your fish to your liking. Amazing place. Undoubtedly fishy smelling but fun to wander around watching the action. We were there for about an hour. Then we boarded the bus again and drove to the Yacht Club and the Floating Mosque. The Yacht Club was smaller than I thought it might be but I’m sure there are others in the city, but the water looked very clean and there were some expensive boats. The Floating Mosque is completely white and it is actually raised on pillars to make it appear above the water. I got a great photo of a sting ray swimming by the mosque. Inside the mosque was quite small but tastefully decorated. Then we walked a short distance along the coast admiring the Red Sea. Right along the boardwalk was a reef with lots of fish swimming about. Then we drove along the Corniche Road which follows the sea to another lovely seaside lookout, where we posed for a group photo in front of the Jeddah sign, before taking the bus back to the hotel for a break from the heat. Although this is Jeddah’s winter it was 30 degrees out with a light on shore breeze and a blue sky. I decided to stay in the hotel and catch up a bit with my blogging.
At 3:30 we reconvened and went to visit a small new museum (it just opened in December) that served to illustrate the history of this important port on the Red Sea. There were exhibits about the trade routes and the growth of the city, but the most important point was that this was the door to Mecca for Islamic pilgrims from around the world. In the beginning they came by foot, caravans or boat and arrived at Jeddah where they stayed and rested before moving on. Even today pilgrims fly to Jeddah and then continue overland on their journey to Mecca as there is no airport there. After that we crossed the road and walked beneath a reconstructed entrance to the Al-Balad district of the old city. After Saudi Arabia was unified the city wall was dismantled as there was no longer a need for protection and only a couple of gates have been replaced to mark where it used to be. As we first entered we walked past the gold and jewelry shops in the rebuilt section. After that our Saudi female guide led us through various narrow streets lined with small shops and houses including the house where her grandmother had lived. People moved out of the old town fifty years ago because electricity and water were outsourced and they wanted the newer conveniences of the modern homes and apartments. As a result parts of the old town have fallen into disrepair. The Ministry of Culture is in the process of renovating many of them. The houses are very closely packed and usually built around squares where people could gather and to which the various roads led. This allowed the breeze to enter the town and help to cool it. What makes them especially interesting is the front window, or ‘roshans’. They look like they might be small balconies but they are actually bay windows. They served to provide privacy for the occupants as well as ventilation and indirect light. They are made from wood which was a limited and exotic resource and although most are brown stained, some are painted green and blue. We stopped in at the Sobia Bar where we enjoyed a local refreshing drink that is often served during Ramadan. We went to visit the inside of the ancient Al-Shafi’i Mosque renowned for its ancient architecture, including a distinctive courtyard, wooden structures, and a historic minaret; it offers a glimpse into traditional Islamic design. Inside was one man who was reading a religious text and was wearing a head scarf which had green plant material attached at the back. Our guide asked about it and he said he was from Yemen and that it was to make him smell good. We spent a couple of hours exploring before we got back in the minivan for the drive to a local fish restaurant that Yannis knew. We sat upstairs in the family section, where men, women and children could eat together as opposed to the main floor where the single men ate. We had fish chowder, flavoured rice, french fries, and we shared two types of fish, grouper and sea bream, as well as two large shrimp each. It was good but the fish was served grilled with all the bones and the shrimp had all their legs, but that’s the way they eat them. After our meal we walked back to the hotel via the corniche where we saw the King Fahd’s Fountain, the world's tallest fountain. Operating since 1985, it is visible throughout the city, features 500+ spotlights, and uses three massive pumps to shoot water at speeds of 375 km/h propelling saltwater from the Red Sea to a maximum height of over 312 meters. Interestingly it is only lit after sunset as during the day the water is basically invisible. When we arrived back at the hotel we all went to our rooms, except Mariuz whose flight home left that evening.
Love the photos which represent the description of your day very well! No chicken today! Lol!
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