First time in Jeddah
What you need to know when visiting Saudi Arabia’s seaside metropolis
POPULATION: 3.4m VISITORS PER YEAR: 141.1m LANGUAGE: ARABIC CURRENCY: RIYAL (SAR) (£1 = SAR 6) ANNUAL RENT FOR AN APARTMENT IN A SECURE COMPOUND: SAR 75,000+ (£12,500) ONE NIGHT IN A FIVE-STAR HOTEL: SAR 700 (£117)
WORDS | ALEX RAYNER
Photography: © Corbis
THOUGH IT SERVES AS THE PRINCIPAL ENTRY POINT FOR MILLIONS OF PILGRIMS, Jeddah isn’t a remarkably pious city. Of course, you will hear the call to prayer here as in any other part of the Kingdom, and Jeddah’s citizens are just as responsive to these appeals as the people of Riyadh or Dammam. Yet everything feels a little more relaxed in this seaside city. The cabbies appear to be a bit jollier, families are more ready to spread out a picnic blanket and take lunch outdoors. If you walk along the seafront, you’re as likely to pass a Henry Moore sculpture as a minaret. At weekends, couples feed the fish in the same way as London’s animal lovers scatter crumbs for pigeons: take a closer look if you see a crowd out on one of the small concrete promenades which dot Jeddah’s corniche and you might see the Red Sea’s top-feeders gobbling up scraps of bread.
Compared to the rest of the kingdom, Jeddah’s less stringent atmosphere owes something to its mixed, transient population.
Port Sudan lies across the water and, although the far shore is well out of sight, the local working class population is made up of workers from the Horn of Africa, Filipino expats and immigrants from the Indo-Islamic diaspora.
In a reversal of the reverence Europeans hold for vintage ‘character properties’, many of Jeddah’s poorest citizens live in Al Balad, or the old town. Here, three-storey blocks built from dredged coral appear to be on the verge of collapse; their wooden-slatted windows or mashrabiya are as wizened as they are intricate. There are plans for a careful restoration of Al Balad, yet it remains a warren-like, medieval neighbourhood, especially when the local market is held (Fridays and Saturdays).
Further north, you’ll hit the newer districts. Many of the five-star hotels lie along the northern shores. You’ll also come upon some of the city’s malls, like Red Sea. Head to the food court for dinner here immediately after Friday prayers, or watch the boy racers gathering in the car lot. You almost have to remind yourself that you’re just under an hour from Mecca.
HOTELS
INTERCONTINENTAL
Five-star joint with Red Sea views and a Brazilian steakhouse. From SAR 900. Corniche Al Hamra, +966 (0)2 6611 800, www.ichotelsgroup.com
HILTON
Just 15 minutes from the airport and the corniche, the Hilton has huge function rooms and conference facilities. From SAR 700. North Corniche Road, +966 (0)2 6590 000, www.hilton.co.uk/jeddah
SHERATON
Close to the Hilton and within easy reach of the business district. Gym and outdoor pool. From SAR 630. North Corniche Road, +966 (0)2 6992 212, www.starwoodhotels.com
RESTAURANTS
AL KHAYAM
Though this Iranian restaurant is housed in the Hilton, the quality of its Persian cuisine is lauded throughout the city. North Corniche Road, +966 (0)2 6590 000, www.hilton.co.uk/jeddah
MUNCH BAKERY
A cheery cake shop and snack spot attracting a young crowd. They also deliver. Al Fawares Centre, Arafat Street, +996 (0)2 660 5010, www.munchbakery.com
THE RED SEA MALL FOOD COURT
OK, it’s hardly haute cuisine, yet this massive retail complex has a very good selection of local and international food at very reasonable rates. Al Malek Abdulaziz Road, www.redseamall.com
MYTH AND MRS?
According to local legend, Eve, the Biblical first woman, is buried in the city. The truth of this claim is, of course, highly doubtful, and the site, at 7695 Old Makkah Road, isn’t exactly public. Nevertheless, some citizens say the city’s name is derived from Jaddah, the Arabic word for grandmother.
A BRIEF HISTORY
500 BC: Fishing hamlet founded on the site of the old town.
647 AD: Othman bin Affan, an early Islamic ruler, chose the city as the principal port for pilgrims visiting Mecca.
1509: Sultan Qansouh Al-Ghori founds Jeddah’s city walls to protect the citizens from European raids.
1925: The port comes under the control of the Kingdom’s Al-Saud dynasty.
LET US SPRAY
You can view Jeddah’s King Fahd Fountain at almost any point along the corniche. It is the world’s tallest water fountain and pumps up a 260-metre plume from the Red Sea’s surface. Elsewhere on the sea front, you can take in the city’s world-famous sculpture collection. These works were commissioned by the city’s former mayor, Mohamed Said Farsi, and were installed on the shorefront from the mid-1970s onwards. There are four Henry Moores, as well as work by Joan Miro and Jean Arp.
TIP
There’s plenty of great diving to be had near Jeddah, though you have to head outside the city to see the best reefs. For English speaking dive tours, contact Eric at Jeddah’s Dream Diver. +966 (0)2 420 9584, www.dreamdiver.net
BUSINESS TIPS FOR JEDDAH
First-hand advice from Brian Hawley, chairman of the local British Business Group
• Although Jeddah is the most Westernised and liberal of the Saudi cities, visitors should still dress modestly. Ladies are expected to wear an abaya (black silk cloak). If you don’t have one on arrival, most hotels can help out. Ladies who are not Muslim are not officially required to cover their hair.
• When you fly in, your luggage will almost always be X-rayed. The main reason for a customs hand-search will be if containers of liquid are detected, so save time by not having any. Alcohol, pork and pornography are forbidden of course.
• Getting around in Jeddah is the main challenge. If you are male, you can hire and drive, but it’s not for the faint hearted. Ask your hotel or business contacts to arrange a car. By the way, in Jeddah a ‘limo’ just means a private-hire car.
• Saudi Arabia has been very unfairly treated in the media in recent years. Forget any preconceptions and come with an open mind. Although Saudis are socially different from Westerners in many ways, they are in general very warm, friendly, helpful and polite. You will enjoy meeting them. www.bbg-jed.org
