"J I D D A H" a Jiddah Travel Page by S_J_Miller

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<b><center><font color =CC9900><font size = 3>Jiddah History</font></font></b></center>

Jiddah also spelled Jidda, Jeddah, or Juddah, city
and major port in central Hejaz region, western
Saudi Arabia. It lies along the Red Sea west of
Mecca.
The principal importance of Jiddah in
history is that it constituted the port of Mecca
and was thus the site where the majority of Muslim
pilgrims landed who were journeying to the holy
cities of Mecca and Medina. The city in fact owes
its commercial foundations to Caliph 'Uthman, who
in 646 made it the port for Muslim pilgrims crossing
the Red Sea.
In 1916 Jiddah and its Turkish
garrisons surrendered to British forces. It then
formed part of the Kingdom of the Hejaz until 1925,
when it was captured by Ibn Sa'ud.
In the 1927 Treaty
of Jiddah the British recognized Saudi sovereignty over
the Hejaz and Najd regions. Jiddah eventually was
incorporated into Saudi Arabia. In 1947 the city walls
were demolished, and rapid expansion followed.
The
city takes its name (which means "ancestress," or
"grandmother") from the location there of the reputed
tomb of Eve, which was destroyed by the Saudi
government in 1928 in the belief that it encouraged
superstition.

After World War II, Jiddah was completely modernized
and expanded with the new wealth acquired by Saudi
Arabia from oil royalties. Its harbour was deepened
and enlarged to accommodate large vessels, and a
desalinization plant was constructed in the early
1970s, thought to be the largest in the world at its
completion.
The city's economy, once dependent on
pilgrim expenditures and fishing, was diversified to
include steel-rolling mills, oil refineries, and the
manufacture of cement, clothing, and pottery. Other
activities include cattle raising and dairying and
many small industries.
One of Saudi Arabia's largest
cities and busiest seaports, Jiddah is also the
diplomatic capital of the country and the location of
the Saudi ministry of foreign affairs and of the
embassies and missions of foreign governments.

Advanced education in economics and administration is
offered by King Abdul Aziz University, founded in
1967.
Jiddah is served by highways to Mecca and
Medina and by King Abdul Aziz International Airport.