Jeddah
Jeddah
(The bride of The Red Sea) is a Saudi Arabian city located on the coast
of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia.
It is the largest city in Mecca Province and the second largest city in
Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The population of the city
currently stands at over 3.4 million. It is considered the second
commercial capital of Saudi Arabia. Jeddah is considered to be the
principal gateway to Mecca, Islam's holiest city. Muslims are required
to visit at least once in their lifetime.
Jeddah
is known as the Paris of Arabia, It is one of the few cities in the
region to have built around, rather than over, its times gone by.
Although it's definitely a modern metropolitan area, Jeddah (which is
mid-way down the country's Red Sea coast) is also the most interesting
and friendly big city of Saudi Arabia's big cities. Jeddah is centered
on town, the strip of buildings along its coastline road and the old
city directly behind them.
Life
Life
in Jeddah is different from many cities in Saudi Arabia for many
reasons. Firstly, Jeddah is a cosmopolitan city, more so than any other
city in the country; it has many people coming from all over the world,
who share their cultures. Secondly, it has many historical buildings,
with traditional designs, and it has lots of buildings near the beach.
It also has very nice beaches and a Cornice where people spend a very good time and relax. Also, Jeddah has the tallest fountain in
the world, named King Fahd Fountain. Last but not least, it has the
annual Jeddah Festival. During the festival, there are many games and
activities held in the city. There are shopping sprees, water skiing
competitions, art exhibitions, and music festivals. Not only that, the
prices of the things that are sold there are reasonably cheap.
Transport
1- Airport
Jeddah
is served by King Abdul-Aziz International Airport which is one of the
world's busiest airports. The airport has four passenger terminals. One
is the Hajj (pilgrimage) Terminal, a special outdoor terminal covered by
very huge tents, which was constructed to handle the more than 2
million pilgrims who pass through the airport during the Hajj season.
The Southern Terminal is used for Saudi Airlines flights with the
Northern Terminal for foreign and other national airlines. The Royal
Terminal is a special terminal for VIPs, foreign Kings and Presidents,
and even the Saudi Royal Family. A portion of the airport was used by
Coalition B-52 heavy bombers during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
2- Seaport
Moreover,
the Jeddah Seaport which is the 32nd busiest seaport in the world
(2007) handles the majority of Saudi Arabia's commercial movement.
3- Roads and rails
Jeddah
does not have any rapid transit system but a current plan to connect
the city to the capital, Riyadh, via a train. It is now under
construction. The Haramain High Speed Rail Project will provide a high
speed rail connection to Mecca and Medina. Modern streets connect the
city parts to each other. In Jeddah the main highways run parallel to
each other with an eight lane road.
Culture
Religious significance
The
vast majority of Jeddah citizens are Sunni Muslims, with a minority of
Shia Muslims, and Asian, Western, and Arab Christians. There is also
non-Muslim/non-Christian Asians. There are no non-Muslim citizens; while
there are Muslims who are not citizens, all non-Muslims are resident
expatriate workers. The city has over 1,300 Mosques and has no Churches,
Synagogues, or other types of places of worship; non-Muslims are also
strictly not allowed to celebrate their religion in any way openly.
However, some Filipino workers report the presence of Churches inside
some Gated communities.
Open-air art
During
the oil boom in the late 1970s and 1980s, there was a focused civic
effort at bringing art to Jeddah's public areas. As a result, Jeddah
contains a large number of modern open air sculptures and works of art,
typically situated in roundabouts, which makes it to this day the
largest open-air art gallery in the world. Sculptures include works by a
variety of artists, ranging from the obscure to international stars
such as Jean/Hans Arp, César Baldaccini, Alexander Calder, Henry Moore,
Joan Miró and Victor Vasarely and often depict elements of traditional
Saudi culture - coffee pots, incense burners, palm trees, etc. The fact
that Islamic tradition prohibits the depiction of living creatures,
notably the human form, has made for some very creative modern art,
ranging from the tasteful to the bizarre and downright hideous. These
include a mounted defunct propeller plane, a giant geometry set, a giant
bicycle, and a huge block of concrete with several cars protruding out
of it at odd angles.
Museums and collections
There
may be about a dozen museums or collections in Jeddah. Some of these,
showing a wide variety of educational aim and professionalism, are the
Jeddah Regional Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography run by the Deputy
Ministry of Antiquities and Museums, the Jeddah Municipal Museum, the
Naseef House, the private Abdul Rauf Hassan Khalil Museum and the
private Arts Heritage Museum.
Media
Jeddah
is served by four major Arabic-language newspapers, Asharq Al-Awsat,
Al-Medina, Okaz, Al-Bilad, as well as two major English-language
newspapers, The Saudi Gazette and Arab News. Okaz and Al-Madina are
Jeddah's and some other Saudi cities' primary newspaper with over a
million readers focusing mainly on issues that affect the city.
Jeddah
is the largest radio and television market in Saudi Arabia. Television
stations serving the city area include Saudi TV1, Saudi TV2, Saudi TV
Sports, Al-Ekhbariya, ART channels network and hundreds of cable,
satellite and other specialty television providers.
The
Jeddah TV Tower is a 250 m (820 ft) high television tower with an
observation deck at Jeddah. The construction of the tower started in
2006 and finished in 2007 and is a part of the new branch of Ministry of
Information in Jeddah.
Cityscape
Old Jeddah
The Old City with its traditional multistory buildings and merchant houses has lost ground to more modern development.
Resorts
The city has a lot of popular resorts, including Durrat Al-Arus, Crystal Resort, Al Nakheel Village, Sands, Sheraton Abhur, and many other splendid resorts. Many are renowned for their preserved Red Sea marine life and offshore coral reefs.
Hotels
The
increasing occupancy rates of hotels every year depends on the number
of tourists and hajj pilgrims. In the last few years, Jeddah received
more than 2.5 millions pilgrims per year.
Consulates
One
of three consulates of the United States of America in Saudi Arabia is
located in Jeddah, along with consulates for 67 other countries such as
United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and People's Republic of
China as well as countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference
and the Arab League states.
Landmarks
King Fahd Fountain
Jeddah's
King Fahd's Fountain is a major landmark built in the 1980s and listed
by the Guinness World Records organization as the highest water jet in
the world at 312 meters (1,024 feet) and can be seen from very far
distances. The fountain was donated to the City of Jeddah by the late
King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz which is where the name is derived.
NCB Tower (National Commercial Bank is Saudi Arabia's first bank).
Built in 1983 and believed to be the highest tower in Saudi Arabia during the 1980s, with a height over 235 m (771 ft).
IDB Tower
The
Islamic Development Bank is a multilateral development financing
institution. It was founded by the first conference of Finance Ministers
of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), convened 18
December 1973. The bank officially began its activities on 20 October 1975.
Jeddah Municipality Tower
This
is the headquarters of the metropolitan area of Jeddah; the new
building of the Municipality is one of Jeddah's highest towers.
The
increasing occupancy rates of hotels every year depends on the number
of tourists and hajj pilgrims. In the last few years, Jeddah received
more than 2.5 millions pilgrims per year.
By Shimaa Abd El Mageed
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