About Jeddah - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Hyperbolically known as the Paris of Arabia, Jeddah 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 of Saudi Arabia's big cities. Jeddah is centered on Al-Balad, the strip of buildings along its coastline road and the old city directly behind them.

Jeddah, the largest city in Saudi Arabia's Western Province, once located sleepily on the shores of the Red Sea, with no sign of its prestigious future. Today it bustles, dazzles and resounds with industry, technology and cosmopolitan human life.

The origin of the city's name poses an interesting dilemma for etymologists. Juddah (pronounced Jiddah) in Arabic means seashore, which seems logical enough, but the school of thought which prefers Jaddah or grandmother, is given credibility by the traditional location of Eve's tomb within the city. Jeddah is, in fact, incorrect, but is popularly used by most non-Saudis living there.

Jeddah has some great museums, including the Municipality Museum. Located in a 200-year-old restored traditional house built from Red Sea coral, the museum has interesting photos of the development of Jeddah, along with rooms done up in traditional style. The Museum of Abdel Raouf Hasan Khalil houses 10,000 items jam-packed into 4 mock-Arab Disney-style buildings. The museum is a spectacularly badly organized clutter of tasteless exhibits, but there are a few real gems among the debris. The Jeddah Museum, the regional museum of archaeology and ethnography, covers the same turf as the Riyadh Museum.

Jeddah has one of the best souks (markets) in the kingdom, the spectacular Souk Al-Alawi, which winds its way through the old city. Although some sections of it have been paved over, and others fitted with bizarre green and white columns, it's still a great place to spend hours strolling and browsing. Jeddah's 3 reconstructed old city gates are also worth a look, as are the several good examples of traditional Jeddah architecture found around the North City Gate.