"The Bride of the Red Sea (so who's the... " a Jiddah Travel Page by June.b

Jeddah is said to be the Bride of the Red Sea, logically, the Red Sea is the "Groom".

Contrary to the somewhat amusing belief & idea of people who have not visited this culturally unique country, Saudi Arabia is not at all desert. Though a vast area is considerably desert, it is rarely inhabited. However, you would be surprised to uncover rare interesting sights in those.

Jeddah, the commercial and industrial hub of the country is a bustling city, a fusion of various nations of the world. For some (many I suppose) expatriates who found it hard to blend in or get accustomed to the Kingdom's culture, customs & traditions, check out the local customs page.

Though, white Thobe (white long dress) along with the headress consist of Tagiyah (cap), Ghutra (scarf) & Agal (cord that holds the ghutra in place) is still the favorite get-ups of saudi males (symbolizes patriotism and love of their culture) and all women clothed/covered in "abaya (black dress) with the women's Thobe, Boshiya and Surwal...... you will definitely find most of the signature fashion brands everywhere as you would in other parts of the world.

Jeddah's King Abdul Aziz airport is host to millions of pilgrims every year who performs both Umrah and the Hajj Pilgrimage. It is about 45-minute drive to Makkah Mukarramah (the focal point or direction of all muslims praying worldwide) and approximately 4-hour drive to the Prophet's Mosque in the calm city Madinah Munawarrah.

Standing on the rooftop of a building in the middle of the city's main thoroughfare facing south-west, you'll get to see this sight of one of Jeddah's architectural landmark, National Commercial Bank main office in downtown Ballad where most expatriates and locals alike spend most of their evenings shopping or just ... chilling out(?)

Checkout Things To Do in Jeddah.

Of all the shopping malls & plazas and places to buy stuff or just do window shopping, the downtown Ballad seems to be the famous spot for expatriates. Ballad has the most demographically diverse concentration of people, from A to D, from the far easterns to middle easterns, this is the place to beat in this part of the city.

The old city part of Jeddah is very fascinating that not many people gets interest in getting in and wonder on its historical alleyways and structures.