Saudis have a saying: “Jeddah Ghair.” It means that Jeddah is different. Frankly, no other slogan would be more fitting for this city than this one since Jeddah is, in fact, quite different from any other Saudi city that I visited thus far. In this week’s article, you will find out why this is so as we go on a journey across Jeddah together, a city that I hope to go back soon and visit more thoroughly.
Jeddah is a port town. This alone makes it a rarity in Saudi Arabia, which mostly has oasis towns in the middle of a vast desert. Since Jeddah stretches alongside the Red Sea for around 30 kilometres, the first thing you will likely notice is that the seafood there is fresh and plentiful, a fact that changes the local diet quite drastically. To see something truly local, I recommend a visit to Jeddah’s Central Fish Market early in the morning. That is when you can find some of the freshest fish available and get a glimpse into the daily lives of Jeddah’s locals. You can even get your fish cleaned and cooked without leaving the premises, or just enjoy the hustle and bustle of this place as I did. I figured it did not make much sense to have a seafood feast on my own here since my mother and uncle were both quite sick back in our hotel room. I will be back, eventually, to have that feast.
Once you leave this fantastic fish market, you should make your way to the Jaffali Park. This whole area seemed to be undergoing further development as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 economic diversification plans. The park itself was already some of the lushest that I have seen in Saudi Arabia, and the modern art museum next to it, known as the teamLab Borderless Jeddah, seemed like an interesting project, though it was a bit out of my budget at that time. To be fair, Jeddah is where most of Saudi Arabia’s elites spend their time, or at least that is what I am told, so on average the prices for most goods seemed to be on the higher end across the city.
In this park, you can also find the Jaffali Mosque. This was one of the more popular stops for day trippers from Mecca. Jeddah receives a ton of such day trippers, mostly pilgrims who prefer to stay in Mecca to pray closer to the Kaaba. Some of them spend a day away from worship every now and then, opting to explore the history, culture, and markets of Jeddah instead.
Eventually, you should make your way to the best part of Jeddah, its Old Town, also known as Al Balad. Al Balad is, in fact, awarded a UNESCO World Heritage status. This is well deserved, as you will see for yourself soon.
Once you go through one of the many ancient doors that lead to the old city, you will be met with two distinct parts of Al Balad. One part of it looks like this. It is genuinely old, authentic, and lived in. You can find ancient looking apartments and some of the finest seafood restaurants in this part of Al Balad.
The other part of Al Balad looks more polished. It is still authentic, still old, but very much refined into a more touristic experience, and turned into a theme park of sorts, serving first and foremost tourists, local and foreign ones alike.
I recommend you take your time wondering around Al Balad, and further recommend you do so during daytime. This area will not be crowded when the sun is up, and thus you will be freer to take in the views and take photographs as you like. You will not be able to do any of that, at least not this conveniently, once the crowds start to gather.
Unfortunately, visiting Al Balad early in the day does come with a caveat. Most stores you find will either not work at all, or only work intermittently, often in between prayers. If you are serious about shopping, you should certainly come after all the prayers are done.
Nevertheless, to go back to my initial point, visiting this place after sunset means being unable to appreciate the fine architecture of these old Arabic homes, which is a crime in my humble opinion. As far as I could tell, these specific etchings and wooden windows are not that common outside of Jeddah. You just have to spend some proper time enjoying the intricate details of these apartment looking family houses, some of which are used to this day.
Of course, some such houses are abandoned instead. As I mentioned before, money is not necessarily tight for many residents of Jeddah. Locals here certainly seemed to be a bit more affluent than the ones I have seen in Mecca and Medina, and possibly even the ones in Riyadh. Much like how Riyadh’s center was home to some abandoned old family homes, who moved on to greener pastures, some family homes in Al Balad seems to have been abandoned for villas by the sea, of which there are many.
At times, it also felt like I caught Jeddah in a rather wrong time. During my visit many parts of the old town were undergoing renovations. I was told that the Jeddah Academy of Fine Arts could see some renovations itself in due time, though frankly, I had no problems with this aesthetic whatsoever.
In fact, this particular corner was by far the best part of Al Balad for me. I came back here every night to check the scene, listen to some tunes that the older Arab gentlemen played as they enjoyed some fresh air, and drink some excellent karak chai, thanks to the lovely folks in nearby Bosalim. If you are after some seriously laidback vibes, this is the place to be, especially after sunset.
Of course, while Jeddah is different in many ways, it is as much as a Saudi town as any other at its core. The backbone of Saudi everyday life, the daily prayers, matter here just as much as they do anywhere else in the Kingdom. You should account for that while creating your itinerary. Wondering around town during prayer times may mean that the museum or the café you want to visit could be closed temporarily.
Once you had your fill of Al Balad, I recommend you pay a visit to the nearby Saudi National Bank. Well, to be honest, the point is not to visit this bank itself, I suppose that is not even possible unless you have something to do over there. The point is to use it to get to your next destination, Corniche Commercial Center, and the other smaller commercial centres around it.
This area, being very close to the port facilities, is where you will see most of the proper mercantile activity taking place in Jeddah. I may have spent well around an entire day just browsing through the inventories of watch vendors and electronics stores here. You can even find some pretty rare watches in these markets, if you have an eye for that kind of stuff. Prices seemed quite reasonable as well, at least compared to the prices in the countries that I am used to.
If you want something more Saudi, perhaps an actual souvenir that is more representative of your time in the Kingdom, then I must guide you back to Al Balad, but this time, at night. This whole neighbourhood basically wakes up when the sun goes down. You will find vendors selling anything from Saudi national clothes to frankincense. You can also find the more usual stuff, like magnets, or statues.
It seemed like some parts of Al Balad had dedicated bazaars to certain types of goods. For example, this alley seemed to focus on clothing, there was another one which was full of vendors selling jewellery, and yet another street was dedicated to souvenirs. I highly suggest you ask a local what you are looking for, so that they can guide you in the right direction. Most of these alleys and bazaars seemed to be undergoing renovations when I was there, suggesting that in all likelihood, Al Balad will be even more bustling once I am, hopefully, back in town for a second time.
And, deep down, I know that I will be back in Jeddah at my earliest convenience. Much like the rest of Saudi Arabia, and Riyadh in particular, Jeddah is being developed at an insane rate. The tallest skyscraper in the world, Jeddah Tower, is being constructed here, and the city is slated to have its very own metro soon enough. Moreover, while I focused on Al Balad in this article, there is more to Jeddah than its excellent UNESCO World Heritage site. There is a whole northern half of the city that is full of high-end development, theme parks, malls, and some other modern amenities, and to the south you can find an increasing number of seaside attractions. There are also some islands on the Red Sea that you can explore on tours that leave Jeddah daily, and possibly a few other such trips that I have yet to discover. After all, Jeddah is the second biggest Saudi city, and yet I spent the least amount of time here during my travels in the Kingdom, so what do you expect… I will be back to enjoy Jeddah in a different light in due time!