Jeddah, SAUDI ARABIA.. We didn’t find Aladdin or his lamp, but something much better

 Happy Easter morning as we sail into the Jeddah Islamic Port, Saudi Arabia!

 I must admit I know next to nothing about this country, except the media reports and the idea that it controls how much I pay for my gasoline.  I have many preconceived ideas concerning the Islamic religion, the treatment of women and the secretiveness of the country itself. I know there is a very big number of highly US educated youth,very big royal family and a King that rules it all. Oh, and they have gobs of oil…

Today my friend Susan and I have elected to do our included tour in a wonem’s only group … only women of the bus and a woman tour guide. Supposedly the guide will give us a “Woman’s” perspective. There have been many differing opinions on shipboard about the validity of this tour.. from complaints of propaganda spreading to outright refusal to go ashore in the country. Susan and I decided we would go into this with an open mind and open hearts and save our impressions and judgement until the tour is over. So join me through pictures of the city of Jeddah, particularly the Old city.

The port is a distance outside the city, as is most of the ports we stop at.  It will be a scenic? 40 minute drive into the old city UNESCO area.Along the way we see a very long thin park like area with beautiful sculptures. This is an area for the public to use for recreation. Owned by the government, of course.

A mosque along the roadway 

The park contains lots of innovative sculpture by various artists 

The gold cube in the middle of the picture is the base for the largest fountain in the world.

 The fountain is called King Fahd’s fountain. It is in the Guinness World records as the highest fountain of its kind in the world. The height is 260 meters ( 853 feet) It’s design is based on the mabkhara, an incense burner which symbolizes Arabian culture. The water is drawn from the sea and filtered many times to remove dirt and sediment to make the flow of water continuous. It is surrounded by 500 led lights. The fountain comes on at 6pm in the evening so we may not be able to see it as we will be leaving port around 5pm.

Our guide is showing us the incense holder that is the inspiration for The fountain. modern city heading into the old city.

A very modern Mickey D’S.

Somewhere over there is the old city!

 Our travel coin is still with us, bringing us good travels.

Heading through the narrow streets of the Old town area.Many of the buildings are leaning, unoccupied and are in need of lots of renovation.

The brown wooden house has been renovated

One of the oldest Mosques. Reminds me of the Orthodox Jewish synagogues where the men and women are separated. There are roles for each and rooms for each gender to pray. 

One of the windows of the mosque 

Peeking through the window to see the inside.. since I would never be able to go into this room.

Below is as partially renovated home. Al was in a group that got to enter inside.. Our group did not have time to enter.

The design of each home is to provide privacy for the family and yet provide air flow to keep the home cool. These building were from the 3rd century forward. 

This home is currently going to be turned into a boutique hotel in the future. This house stands at the major cross roads for travelers who are starting their pilgrimage to Mekka (Mecca). Mecca is three days walk from Jeddah and hence Jeddah is know as the gateway to Mekka. In today’s world our guide told us that pilgrims still come to the old city to gather supplies for their pilgrimage but of course instead of three days walk it only takes 45 minutes by car.. why do it the hard way!

A side view of the building

An incense machine.. I kid you not… this box routinely has incense smoke coming out of the two holes on the top. There were several around the old city. Certainly helps give the vibe of old Arabia!

Not sure how this one will be saved!

Or this one!

The walls of these buildings are leaning forward towards each other. This was a sight I saw frequently. There were many braces up the side of buildings to keep them upright. The project to completely renovate Old Jeddah is to be completed by 2030…I can’t imagine the billions of dollars and only 7 years left to finish this into a viable profitable area!

In 1920s the building below was the back of the US Embassy. It was abandoned in the 80’s when the embassy was moved to the capital city of Riyadh

The front entrance of the embassy

There were many open areas that were for public use. Usually they had a tree or greenery.

The old city was surrounded by a city wall for safety. There were eight gates to enter the area. Above is the remaining wall and below is the remaining main gate. The king order all the gates to be opened and permanently kept.

 The minaret is a common architectural feature throughout the region.

During our tour we were free to ask our guide any questions concerning her life. She filled us in on the educational system, the social programs for citizens, particularly women and what her life is like. I would guess she was in her mid thirties, well educated ( a masters degree) ad very independent. She was wearing the customary cover and scarf.  In her opinion, she enjoys the dress because she can wear whatever she want under it. There seems to be a sense of security to the outfit. She enjoys most of the freedoms that we have in the US. She owns her own car and can drive, if she wanted she can own her own home and nowadays women are moving into all occupations not just education or medicine. In her lifetime she has now more opportunities than her mother had and feels good about that. She was asked what else she would see as a needed change in Saudi Arabia for women… He reply was” if you had asked me that question 5 years ago, I could have given you a list, however in today 2023, I would have to reply, I can’t think of a single thing to change anymore. “ “my world in my country is very good now”

As far as the tour itself, she was a very strong, knowledgeable woman who held her own alongside her male colleagues. I came away from meeting her and her assistant feeling that the kingdom now seems to understand the importance of women and is trying to slowly redefine some of Islam’s strict view of women to meet the needs of the future.The kingdom is starting to be interested in supplementing its oil income with tourism and it needs to at least give the allusion of equality. Our guide did mention that its in the cities that you see the biggest changes and that in rural areas there can still be strong push back concerning women. 

What’s my impression? 

Well, Im certainly glad I got off the ship and went into the city. It was good to have a woman as a guide and I never felt that she was trying to give me an untrue picture of her life.  The government is still authoritarian as ever and Im not sure the poor women or uneducated women receive the same benefits of life that our guide does. Hopefully the  kingdom will continue to encourage freedom and equality for women. If they continue going forward, things will be good. For those who don’t see improvements and continue to think that women in Saudi should get everything we have as women here in the US, I would remind you to look at the recent state of healthcare for women in our country, the censorship of school boards and libraries and the government intervention in curriculum in the public school system and show me how it is any different than in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Authoritarianism can take many shapes…

 In regards to this tour, the worst thing to endure for me was the extreme heat and little water. It is Ramadan here and from sunrise to sunset all faithful are required to fast from food and drink… For a group of old tourists who did not want to be rude and drink in front of others, it was a a terrible combination! We seemed to drop like flies! Luckily for us, our guide encouraged us to take our water bottles and drink.. her comment was “ you are not bound by the Islamic traditions of our faith.. I’m a big girl and I will not be offended by you drinking water in front of me... Unfortunately ,many of the other guides did not offer such an offer and many found the extreme heat robbed them of the joy of seeing the old city. 

Would I encourage a visit to Jeddah? Yes… every experience is a learning opportunity. Will I return? Maybe, if Im given enough time in this life. 

As we pulled away from the dock this evening, we saw the faint line of the King Fahd Fountain in the distance! 

The sunsets as we leave our Arabian adventure. I think this may be one of my favorite pictures .. the distinctly unique light house in front of the sun setting…  

Its not Aladin’s lamp, but a good substitute.