Fall In Love With Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – A Brief Overview

Advice & Tips

The magic in new beginnings is truly the most powerful of them all” – Josiyah Martin

Living and working in Saudi Arabia is a once in a lifetime experience. Yes, with all the cultural differences it can be challenging & frustrating at times. however, if you have a sense of adventure and want to experience culture at its rawest, this is the place for you. There are expats from all over the world living in Saudi Arabia. Working in some of the larger hospitals there are up to 50 different nationalities, so one thing is for sure you are guaranteed to make friends for life.

Saudi Arabia is a country everyone likes to comment about often leading to mixed reviews. This can lead to people feeling apprehensive before travelling. Before you travel to Saudi Arabia/Jeddah like anywhere else, you need to do your research. Take on board as much information as possible from as many sources as you can. It may surprise you, often the majority, if not all who have been there, tend to enjoy their experience. Jeddah is the city with the beaches and the Red Sea does not fail to delight, even the most experienced of divers. The East coast is close to Bahrain. Many people living there will head to Bahrain on their weekends off to enjoy some of the more western lifestyle.

The History:

The size of modern-day Jeddah is more than a thousand times the size of its ancient counterpart. It’s believed the mother of humanity “Eve”, was laid to rest in ancient Jeddah.

Jeddah has always played an prominent role in Saudi Arabia’s history. For centuries, it was the converging point for pilgrims and traders. Some consider Jeddah the biggest cultural melting pot in the world. It is widely recognised as the mot cosmopolitan of all the cities in Saudi Arabia and the shopping capital.

While Jeddah happily moves towards the cosmopolitan and modern world, it does so while bringing the beauty of the past with it. At the heart of Old Jeddah stands the Al-Balad district, it is a wistful testament to the bygone days of Old Jeddah, with beautiful coral architecture casting some welcome shade over the bustling souqs beneath. Souqs filled with aromatic spices, beautiful rugs, fine jewellery, and clothes. Jeddah is often the first Saudi city foreigners like to visit. (https://www.lonelyplanet.com/saudi-arabia/hejaz/jeddah#ixzz1odURiDZz )

Snapshot – Jeddah

Population: 4 Million
Location: Coast of the Red Sea
Size: Second Largest city in Saudi Arabia
Motto: Jeddah Ghair – “Jeddah is different”

Climate:

Summers are warm! Hitting 43 degrees while winters remain warm at 15-28 degrees. Giving you all the more reason to hit the beach and do some diving.

Food & Dining Cuisine:

Jeddah has always been a port for trade and as such is a very multicultural city. The cuisines reflect this – you’ll be able to find anything from Eastern, Western, African you name it! Being a coastal city, it is of course famous for its seafood. You’ll find a lot of beautiful restaurants located right along the Corniche by the waterfront so you can enjoy those cooling sea breezes while you watch the sunset.

The Beach & Diving:

There’s a number of beaches you can hit on your days off or take a day trip out to the Red Sea to do some snorkelling, diving, fishing or swimming!

Entertainment:

Jeddah as always been quite modern for its time. In the 1970s and 80s there was a big push to bring art into all public areas of Jeddah making the city one of the largest open-air galleries in the world. It’s home to the worlds tallest fountain and most recently they’ve hosted a variety of events including by Mariah Carey and Sean Paul.

Jeddah has something for everyone, whether it’s shopping or sunning yourself; losing yourself in the past in the cities many beautiful museums or strolling along Jeddah’s Corniche and gazing in awe at the sculptures and fountains that line the 30km pedestrian area near the port. (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/saudi-arabia/hejaz/jeddah/things-to-do