Jeddah – Gateway for pilgrims, retail hub, cosmopolitan… these are but some of the designations awarded for centuries to Jeddah, a metropolis on the Red Sea coast. Though it lost the title of Saudi Arabia’s largest city to Riyadh, the capital, Jeddah was and is all of those.
Generations of pilgrims have passed through the city since the beginnings of Islam, by land and sea, headed for the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Now they arrive by plane from all over the world, yet Jeddah remains the meeting point in the Hijaz, a region inhabited for millennia, on the western portion of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The city’s vocation becomes clear before you even get there. The ANBA reporter took a flight from Dubai, UAE, to Jeddah on a late February night. The plane, a Boeing 777, of the same type as the one that flies between the emirate and Brazil, was absolutely packed with pilgrims going to Mecca for the Umrah, or “small pilgrimage,” made at all times of the year, unlike the Hajj, or “big pilgrimage,” which takes place once a year at a set date.
The passengers were mostly Asiatic, especially Indonesian. Entire families, lots of seniors but some young people too, all wearing uniform-like travel operator T-shirts or sporting the white terry-cotton tunics typical of pilgrims. On arrival, business as usual: long lines at exclusive immigration booths for inbound Umrah travellers.
In the parking lot, vehicles carrying pilgrims come and go all the time. Those who are leaving invariably carry a gallon of water from Mecca’s Zamzam Well, which Muslims believe started producing the liquid miraculously to quench the thirst of Ismael, the son of Abraham with the servant Hagar. Nearby, there are massive bus terminals for the pilgrims.
The centuries spent as a meeting point for travellers also shows in the fact that the locals boast the most diverse origins. Aside from a passing point for pilgrims, Jeddah has always been a major port and retail hub, home to wealthy merchants, and regarded as Saudi Arabia’s premiere trade hub until this day.
Coral homes
In historic downtown’s Al-Balad District, the trade-hub past is plain to see in the coral-and-limestone buildings decorated with balconies and wood latticework known as mashrabiya, which keeps the interior ventilated while allowing residents to see what goes on in the street. But passersby can’t see what takes place on the inside. These were the homes of the ancient merchants.
They are the trademarks of the city, but save for a few exceptions they are in poor conditions. Still, one can’t help but admire the beauty of the architecture.
The vocation for trade is also clearly seen in the “souqs” (markets) scattered about the labyrinth of streets. It is easy to get lost in the district’s snaky alleys. A highlight is the crowded Souq Al Alawi, replete with shops of all types.
It is worth noting that although Jeddah has a less conservative air to it than Riyadh we are still in Saudi Arabia, a country known for its traditionalism, seemliness and religiosity. Shops shut down at praying times; women – even the foreign ones – wear abayas, i.e. black robes over their clothes and scarves over their hair; the men usually wear long garments; shorts are a no-no.
Prayer breaks are short and the shops soon reopen, except in the afternoon, when they usually stay closed. The best times for street shopping in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world are the morning, late afternoon and evening. Apart from the traditional markets, Jeddah is chock full of shopping centres.
Another downtown highlight is the gates that hark back to Jeddah’s walled-city days, the best known of which is Bab Makka, or Gate to Mecca, where pilgrims arrive and depart. Downtown, there is also a cemetery where Eve is said to have been buried.
Art out in the open
For a more modern sight, a local attraction is the sculptures spread across the city, especially near the seafront, many of them by famous artists. For that reason, Jeddah is also known as one of the largest open-air art galleries in the world.
Back to Dubai, in the daytime, once again a packed plane. Only this time it was an Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum