Saudi Arabiathe Saudi Arabia Information Site

symbol of Devil

Mecca Saudi Arabia: The pillar in the center is symbol of Devil, muslim piligrims at the occassion of Hajj hit it by small stones as part of Hajj process. By hitting stones they show thier hate to Satan (devil forces).

As far as non-Muslims are concerned, Jeddah is the most important city of Saudi Arabia’s western region, known as the Hijaz.

Jeddah is by far the most cosmopolitan city in the Kingdom, hardly surprising when you realize it has been the main port for Makkah since early Islamic times. Indeed, until well into the twentieth century thousands of pilgrims arrived at Jeddah seaport annually as the first step on their trip to Makkah and Madinah.

The Hijaz came under nominal Turkish control in the 16th century, though local rulers kept a great deal of power and influence. The first foreign consuls arrived in Jeddah in the first half of the nineteenth century. King Abdul Aziz and his troops took control of the city in 1925 and afterwards, foreign representatives to his court lived in Jeddah rather than Riyadh. The embassies remained in Jeddah until the mid-1980s when they were all transferred to the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh. Nonetheless, there are still a large number of foreign consulates in Jeddah as the city retains its importance as the commercial capital of the Kingdom and it is, of course, the main port of entry for the millions of pilgrims who visit the Holy Cities each year.

Most of Jeddah’s historic sites are along the old city walls, which were demolished, in the late 1940s. The old city (pictured) is now a protected urban area in which buildings cannot be torn down unless they are absolutely beyond repair and, if they are torn down, they must be replaced with something of similar size and architectural style. Within the old city, many of the traditional houses are built of coral, taken from reefs in the Red Sea.

Within the old city, there is the Sharbatly House and the Naseef House. These are two old houses, the traditional homes of two of Jeddah’s merchant families and both have been restored to their original state.

The Municipality Museum is opposite the National Commercial Bank headquarters in the old city. It is the only remaining building of several which comprised the British Legation in Jeddah during World War I. The museum is open in the mornings from Saturday to Thursday; admission is free but a permit from the Jeddah Municipality is required (telephone: +966 2 669-5556 or 660-7671). Once the permit has been granted, it is still necessary to make an appointment with the curator of the museum.

There is a Christian cemetery in Jeddah in a street in the old city named the “Street of the Cemetery of the Foreigners”. It is no longer in use and the last burial had taken place in the early 1950’s, but is kept up in turn by several of the foreign consulates in the city. It is walled and there is a large gate, but can be peered into from some of the buildings surrounding it.

Al-Balad

district of Jeddah is a historic area. Houses have been reconstructed as they were 100 years ago and it is an interesting area to walk through and observe. These houses, which have been restored and are open to tourists, belong to various old Jeddah families.

About 70km east of Jeddah is the Holy City of Makkah where the Prophet was born in the 6th century AD. He began to preach in Makkah and it was to Makkah that he returned shortly before his death in AD632. Makkah and its environs are strictly off-limits to non-Muslims and there are checkpoints on the roads leading into the city.

Makkah is Islam’s holiest city and it is to Makkah that all devout Muslims dream of coming at least once (the hajj) in their lifetime. The centre of the city is the Grand Mosque and the sacred Well of Zamzam beside it. The Kaa’ba to which all Muslims turn when they pray is in the central courtyard of the Grand Mosque and, according to Islamic tradition, it was built by the first prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael.

In the mountains above Makkah and Jeddah is the town of Taif. Its elevation gives it a climate far cooler and pleasanter than either Jeddah or Makkah and without the uncomfortable humidity of the former. Many families from both Jeddah and Riyadh maintain houses in Taif as an escape from the uncomfortable summers in those two cities.

Taif

became a part of modern Saudi Arabia in 1924 when the soldiers of King Abdul Aziz took the city. Most recently, Taif was the seat of Kuwait’s government-in-exile during the Iraqi occupation of that country in 1990-91. It is also well-known as a producer of high quality attar-of-roses from its roses, which have a particularly sweet fragrance.

There is a museum in the city in the Shubra Palace, open only on Thursday from 9am to 7pm.

Madinah is the holiest city in Islam after Makkah and was in fact the first to accept the Prophet’s message. The Prophet fled to the city, then called Yathrib, from Makkah in AD622. (The Islamic calendar dates from His flight to Madinah.) The most important place in the city is the Prophet’s Mosque, which contains His burial place. Everything of historical or religious significance is within the precincts forbidden to non-Muslims, although the outskirts of the city and the airport are open to all.

Located several hundred kilometres north of Madinah is the ancient — and now uninhabited — city of Madain Salih (pictured). It is the best known and the most spectacular archaeological site in Saudi Arabia. During its prime, it was an important stop on the caravan routes from the incense-producing areas of southern Arabia to Syria, Egypt, Byzantium and other points. The immense stone tombs, which have made it famous, were carved between 100BC and 100AD and the city itself was the second city in the Nabataean Empire, after Petra in modern-day Jordan.

The ruins at Madain Salih are in fact better preserved than those at Petra in Jordan, because of the hardness of the local stone. The Nabataeans became rich through their control of the incense route and their charging caravans tolls of up to 25%. They entered a decline in the first century AD when the Romans realized that the incense could be loaded onto ships and taken to Egypt. Less expensive items continued to move along the route and it was never totally abandoned. In Islamic times, the pilgrim route from Damascus to Makkah passed through Madain Salih.

For those who want to visit Madain Salih, a great deal of bureaucratic bother and hassle can be avoided by booking a tour through the Madinah Sheraton. Both the hotel and the airport are on the outskirts of the city and so are open to non-Muslims.

The hotel’s tour is a weekend one — covering arrival at the hotel on Wednesday evening with a slide presentation. The trip to Madain Salih with a guide begins on the Thursday at 6.30am, and returns to the hotel in the evening. Friday is a free day and the price of around SR700 or SR750 includes the trip to the site, two nights at the hotel, all meals from dinner on Wednesday evening to lunch on Friday and airport transfers.

Normally the hotel needs three weeks to arrange the tour, which is for groups of 10 or more and which only operate when there are enough people. To contact the hotel, telephone +966 4 823-30240 or fax +966 4 825-1628 and speak to the sales department.

Modern Madinah is eminently accessible, as it is excellently served by wide, well-surfaced highways. It is situated 308 miles/49km from Makkah, 264 miles/425km from Jeddah, 170 miles/275km from Yanbu, and 590 miles/950km from Riyadh, the Kingdom’s capital.

Saudia

, the Kingdom’s national airline, operates non-stop flights between Madinah and many other Saudi cities. There are also international non-stop flights between Madinah and Cairo, Damascus, and Istanbul. During the season of hajj and the vacation periods of the academic year, many additional flights are provided.

Madinah

’s altitude of 1,958 feet/597m above sea level gives it a somewhat extreme climate — very hot in summer, moderate in autumn and cold in winter. Its generally fertile soil is given a boost in more rocky and arid areas, by the addition of clay-bearing soil, which is brought in from nearby to assist in landscaping. This is later mixed with crushed sand, peat moss, dried manure, and compost to balance the mineral content of the soil, thus increasing its fertile qualities. This prepared soil mixture is used particularly in the planting of the date palm. 

Date palms line Madinah’s streets and highways in profusion, and the city authorities are constantly planting even more, together with many multi-coloured shrubs. It is almost impossible to find a park or garden in the city without at least one palm tree.

The date palm (botanical name phoenix dactylifera) belongs to the class Monocotyledons and the family Palm. It has provided mankind with food (pictured) and building materials since the dawn of time and can be found from the Canary Islands across northern Africa to the Middle East; from India and Pakistan to south-west Asia.

Horticultural experts believe that the date palm has been cultivated since about 6000BC, and every part of the tree has its uses. The wood and leaves provide timber and fabric for houses and fences. The leaves are used for making ropes, cord, baskets, crates and furniture. Bases of the leaves and the fruit stalks are used as fuel, and the fruit yields food products such as date vinegar, date chutney or sweet pickle, date paste for bakery products and additional flavouring for oranges, bananas and almonds. The Arabian-flavoured Bedouin dish known as Canua and roasted whole date seeds are popular as far away as Libya. Even the tree’s terminal buds make tasty additions to vegetable salads.

The date palm’s single, non-branched trunk grows to a height of 100 feet/30m. The trunk is covered in a spiral pattern with leaf base remnants, known as leaf scars. The feather-shaped leaves are about 13-16 feet/4-5m long, and are crowned with male and female flowers, growing on separate trees. Each flower cluster contains about 1,000 blooms. Only young trees, of between three and seven years old, bear flowers; it is the lateral buds of older trees which bear the fruit.

Cultivated date palms undergo a process of artificial fertilization. The male flowers are cut off and tied to the trees above the female flowers. Seeds or offshoots sprouting from the base of the trunk are used in tree propagation. These reproduce the sex and nature of the parent tree and can therefore be used for commercial planting.

According to Professor El-Said of King Saud University, Riyadh, the sex of a date palm is often difficult to determine and the tree can even change its sex before reaching maturity. An examination of the flowers of a young tree may not necessarily be very helpful in revealing its true sex.

The fruit of the date has one seed and can vary in size, shape, colour and quality of flesh. Unripe dates are green in colour, maturing to yellow, then reddish-brown when fully ripe. A single large bunch may contain more than a thousand dates, and can weigh between 13 and 17 lbs. (6 to 8 kg). Each tree produces between five and ten bunches. Date palms begin to bear fruit at 3 to 5 years, and are fully mature at 12 years.

The sugar content of ripe dates is about 80%, and the remainder is a rich blend of protein, fat and mineral products including copper, sulfur, iron, magnesium and fluoric acid. Dates are therefore highly nutritious. Bedouin Arabs, who eat them on a regular basis, show an extremely low incidence rate of cancer and heart disease.

As the Holy Quran tells us, dates have always been considered beneficial to mothers. When Mary gave birth to the Prophet Jesus (may peace be upon Him) under a palm tree, she heard a voice telling her:

“Shake the trunk of the palm tree towards thee: it will drop fresh, ripe dates upon thee. Eat, then, and drink, and let thine eye be gladdened!” (Quran 19:25-26)

The date palm is often the only available staple food for the inhabitants of desert and arid lands, and as such it is vital to millions throughout North Africa and the Middle East. According to the World Food and Agricultural Organization, there are 90 million date palms in the world and each tree can grow for more than 100 years. 64 million of these trees are grown in Arab countries, which produce 2 million tons of dates between them each year.

Date-producing Arab countries are Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the UAE, and Yemen. Between them Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia produce 600 different kinds of dates, which accounts for 60% of the world’s production.

The date palm is also highly prized as an ornamental tree throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as it is ideally situated in streets, avenues and driveways. Optimum planting conditions dictate that trees should be set 20-26 feet/6-8m apart and then well soaked with water. The date palm can tolerate a high salinity level of up to 22,000 parts per million.

Iraq is the top commercial producer and exporter of dates, closely followed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Algeria. Saudi Arabia contains more than a million date palms, and scored a commendable achievement by doubling its production of dates in 1986. The Kingdom donates 16,000 tons of its annual production of 500,000 tons of dates to the world food programme. Madinah’s date market (Souq Al Tumoor) contains about 150 varieties, the most popular of which is Anbara, the most expensive. Other delicious varieties include Ajwa, Halwa, Shalabi, Barnie and Mabroum.

The Hejaz Railway was originally built to transport pilgrims from Damascus to Madinah. The idea was first conceived in 1864, during a time of great expansion in railway engineering, but it was not until 40 years later that the initial idea came to fruition.

The only method of transport for the pilgrims to Madinah in those bygone days was camel caravan, a journey which would have been arduous for even the most intrepid traveller. The journey would have taken about two months, and a further two months on the return, travelling through winter’s freezing temperatures and torrential rains, or the scorching heat of the summer months. Towns and settlements were sparse and hostile tribes, together with an inhospitable environment, no doubt compounded the difficulties.

The concept of the railway presented a financial as well as an engineering challenge, requiring a budget of some £8 million pounds. Contributions from the Turkish sultan Abdul Hammed, the Khedive of Egypt, and the Shah of Iran helped to raise the money. Other contributions came from the Turkish Civil Service and armed forces, and from various fund-raising efforts (which included the sale of titles such as Pasha or Bey).

Construction, maintenance and guarding of the line all presented enormous difficulties, mainly undertaken by 5,000 Turkish soldiers. Apart from the unpredictable — and often hostile — local tribesmen, variations in the terrain itself made construction difficult. The ground was very soft and sandy in places and solidly rocky in others. Water scarcity was the norm, but occasional torrential rainstorms caused flash floods, washing away bridges and banks and causing the line to collapse.

The camel caravan owners were far from pleased by the construction of the railway line, as it posed a considerable threat to their livelihood. The railway journey was quicker and cheaper, and no-one in his right mind would contemplate spending £40 on an arduous, two-month camel journey when he could travel in comfort in only four days for just £3.50. Frequent attacks on the trains by the tribes and furious caravan operators, made the journey to Madinah a perilous undertaking for pilgrims, whether by camel or by rail.

On 1 September 1908 the railway was officially opened, and was transporting 30,000 pilgrims a year by 1912. Business boomed, and by 1914 the annual load had soared to 300,000 passengers. Not only were pilgrims transported to Madinah, but the Turkish army began to use the railway as its chief mode of transport for troops and supplies. This was to be the railway’s undoing, as it was severely damaged during the First World War (1914-1918). There was no direct intention to destroy the railway at this time; the main aim was simply to cripple it, in order to impede the advance of the Turkish army.

After the First World War, and until as recently as 1971, several attempts were made to revive the railway, but the scheme proved too difficult and too expensive. Road transport was now established and, by the Seventies, aviation had made rapid progress. The railway was rapidly superseded and the huge old steam locomotives clanked sadly to their final halt. But the romance of the railway remains alive.

Enthusiastic followers of the phantom steam trail of the Hejaz Railway will find it worthwhile to go as far north as Tabuk, about 1,100km from Jeddah. In the grey, rocky hills outside Tabuk, one comes upon the station at Al Awjariyah, which is built from natural grey stone. It is two-storied and built like a fortress, in common with most of the other stations along the line, leading one to suppose that the life of a station-master in those days was not for the faint-hearted.

Following the track along Wadi Saba for about 13km leads to another station, and the track seems here to double back on itself. The track then continues through a deep gorge cut into the hills and thence into a tunnel. The steel tracks have been removed long ago, and local farms now use the iron sleepers as building supports and fence posts.

The eighth station — Ad Dar Al Hamra — is situated at the end of a wide, flooded section of the wadi. The stations are at approximately 20km intervals and behind this particular one the ruins of a Turkish fort are worth exploring. Interesting too, is the station at Al Mutalla, which has several overturned carriages lying beside it.

At Medain Saleh, the station is fascinating, with an enormous old engine house, containing several rusting old steam locomotives.

Al Sawrah, about 116km south of Al Ula, is one of the most scenic stations to be found along the route. Situated in a wide, beautiful wadi, the three station buildings are constructed of an attractive yellow stone. Just outside the station one can see the shells of a couple of old pick-up trucks, probably the remains of an attempt to rehabilitate the railway line.

The first mining of the Hejaz Railway was at Aba el Naam, but there are more interesting relics to be found further north, some 34km down the line from Al Sawrah. Here, twisted pieces of iron rails lie in the sand beside the engine, which still remains upright, despite being some distance from the track itself. Explosives have ripped open sections of metal at the back of the engine and wrecked bogies, blown apart from their carriages, lie nearby. Nothing seems to have changed since 1917.

The round trip from Jeddah encompasses about 3,000km and is an outstanding journey, as both a visual and a historical experience.

If you seek the visually spectacular, Jeddah will never disappoint you. And there is probably nowhere more spectacular than Jeddah’s floodlit Corniche in the evening, where over 400 open-air sculptures (pictured) provide a feast for the eye.

Their diversity is extraordinary, from the solid curves of Henry Moore to the poetic beauty of Mustafa Sunbal’s seagulls in flight. Some may cause aesthetic ambivalence — the cars embedded in a vast concrete block for instance. They are a good talking point, nonetheless, and in Jeddah everyone has his favourite sculpture.

Spectacular, too, is the gigantic fountain (pictured), situated opposite Al-Salam Palace, just across the water. It is said to be the world’s highest fountain, exceeding even Geneva’s famous jet d’eau by several metres. When floodlit by night, the fountain is visible for miles around.

After the Mahgreb (sunset) prayer, the Corniche springs into life, with Saudi families dining al fresco. Picnicking is a favourite local hobby, and is regarded as an ideal opportunity to get together for a family chat and a substantial supper. Vendors with handcarts roam the beach, selling candy floss, fizzy drinks and spicy chickpeas.

Giant funfairs have blossomed along the northern sections of the Corniche. Built in two sections strictly segregated by gender, these contain all the traditional rides and thrills, as well as a good selection of gastronomic fairground essentials.

For those whose dining requirements are more sedate, Jeddah offers a wonderfully diverse series of treats for the tastebuds. Whether your taste is for Middle Eastern, ethnic or international food, your expectations are more than met by the city’s many excellent restaurants. The larger hotels offer well-priced, international menus of an extremely high standard. Worldwide cuisine is often ‘themed’ in hotel restaurants, so you can enjoy American, French, Mexican, Italian, seafood or whatever else takes your fancy on different nights of the week.

For those on a tight budget, Middle Eastern take-away restaurants abound, and many Jeddah residents maintain that it is these which serve the most delicious, reasonably-priced experience for your palate. Here you can buy the traditional shawerma — thinly-sliced lamb or chicken, rolled with pickles, salad and french-fries into a delicious Arabic sandwich. Falafels are another great favourite — these are deep-fried balls of ground chick peas, flavoured with garlic and herbs, and cost just a few riyals for a large bag full.

The ubiquitous fast-food chains also have several branches in Jeddah. In these, as in all other restaurants, there are always two separate sections; one for ‘families’ and one for ‘bachelors’. Those whose party includes only men should eat in the bachelor section (sometimes known as ’singles’), which is usually situated in the front of the restaurant overlooking the street. The family section, however, is discreetly tucked away and usually has screened windows.

Eating out is perhaps Jeddah’s favourite occupation, but shopping comes a close second. Jeddah’s early traditions as a trading centre continue unabated in today’s cosmopolitan city, and it is possible to buy almost anything in its souqs and shopping malls. Stick to the latter if you prefer to shop under cover in air-conditioned comfort, but for the more adventurous, the souqs have a great deal of charm and are still the main source of a good bargain.

Haggling is essential to all Middle Eastern shopping, although prices are sometimes fixed in the larger department stores.

Jeddah’s status as a trading centre has been maintained down the centuries and many of today’s major trading companies have their headquarters there. Two large, government-owned companies are based in Jeddah, too: the Saudi Arabian Marketing and Refining Company (SAMAREC) and Saudia, which is the national airline. Both these companies employ a huge work force, and their presence exerts a considerable impact on the local economy.

By contrast, industry still plays only a minor part in Jeddah’s economy, although one industry which does seem to be thriving is tourism. Increased mobility, as a result of lower domestic air fares and better connecting highways, means that many Saudi nationals are now able to enjoy the delights of Jeddah as a holiday resort. Attracted by the Red Sea, the excellent restaurants and shops and the cosmopolitan flavour of the city, Saudis are now taking several short holidays a year, and Jeddah is an increasingly popular destination. Hotels report an increased demand for accommodation, and builders are finding that the demand for new residences is on the increase, as many wealthy families from Riyadh and other cities in the Kingdom are building holiday homes in Jeddah.

Jeddah’s glitter continues undimmed, and no-one who has visited the city will be able to forget its unique atmosphere.

To anyone standing on its shore and gazing out across its dazzling waters, the Red Sea may seem to be a misnomer. Anything less red cannot be imagined; its blueness is palpable, indisputable and infinite. Yet this is the name which seems to predominate over those it has borne in the past; the Sea of Hejaz, the Arabian Gulf, the Coral Sea or, less romantically, Tanker Alley.

Poets among us who extol the scarlet beauty of the setting sun as it dips below the watery horizon, will feel no further need to justify the aptness of its name, but scientists take more convincing. They will doubtless tell you of the red coral on the famous reef, or the planktonic algae, which leave a dull red tidal scum at the edge of the water. So — is it to be coral, scum or sunsets? Take your pick.

Oil tankers, cargo vessels, passenger liners and fishing boats all ply their trade across the surface of this great waterway, but for many, the true fascination of the Red Sea is hidden just below its surface. Here lies the diver’s paradise; one of the world’s most impressive reefs, containing more than 200 species of multi-coloured coral.

For enthusiasts in Jeddah, dive shops abound. Equipment may be bought or hired, and most shops offer courses with qualified diving instructors. These courses range from elementary tuition for beginners to recreational dives for the more experienced. Several of Jeddah’s large hotels offer weekend diving packages and some have their own private, man-made beaches with dive shops and easy access to the reef.

Snorkeling is a popular way to view the edge of the reef, especially for those with limited confidence in their swimming ability. However, most divers will tell you that there is nothing to beat the thrill of experiencing the depth of the reef and the teeming marine life to be found there. Sharks, manta rays, turtles and eels will take pieces of bread from your hand, and brilliantly coloured schools of fish teem all around, in bewildering variety. Such is the lure of the reef that many novice divers become totally ‘hooked’ and cannot imagine why they have never joined in the fun before.

The arts of boat-building and navigation have a proud, centuries-long tradition in the Red Sea region. Sadly, however, ancient boat-building skills are lapsing into obscurity, with the advent of outboard motors and fibreglass hulls. The beauty of the houri, the sambuk and the dhow, carved without the use of plans by the craftsman’s unerring eye — all are rapidly vanishing and may even now belong to the past.

Fishing, however, is an art that still preserves time-honoured methods, mostly due to the difficulties imposed by the dangers of the reef. The hook-and-line method of fishing has been in use for more than four thousand years and is still going strong. Conservation of certain species of fish and the dangers of over-fishing are both important issues for the Saudi Arabian government — as a result, the total catch is respectable, though not excessive. The Kingdom’s fishermen land a total of 8,000 metric tons of fish per annum, which, although eight times as much as the Sudan, is less than half Egypt’s total catch.

In addition to its marine life, the water of the Red Sea is also a vital commodity. The city of Jeddah is totally dependent on it for household and industrial supplies, and enormous desalination plants are in operation. These supply drinking water, which has been purified to a high standard, as well as non-potable domestic water. Seawater is also used in large quantities by oil refineries and cement works situated along the coastline.

The danger of pollution is always present in the Red Sea, particularly from oil spillage, and a Royal Decree forbids the discharge of any pollutant substances, including oil, within 100 miles of the Saudi Arabian coastline.

For swimmers, divers, traders, industrialists, fishermen and tourists, the Red Sea has its own kind of perfection. And even the idle gazer, pondering the impenetrable blue/red anomaly, can be said to have been given something to think about.