Jeddah (also spelled
Jiddah, Jidda, or
Jedda; Jidda) is a Saudi Arabian
city located on the coast of the Red Sea
and is the
major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city
in Makkah
Province
, the largest
sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi
Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh
. The
population of the city currently stands at over 3.4 million. It is
considered the second commercial capital of Saudi Arabia.
Jeddah is
the principal gateway to Mecca
, Islam's holiest city, which able-bodied Muslims are required to visit at least once in their
lifetime.
Residents of Jeddah are called
Jeddawis. Jeddah has 24
sister cities, which are selected
based on economic, cultural and political criteria.
Etymology and spelling
There are at least two explanations for the etymology of the name
Jeddah. According to
Jeddah Ibn Helwaan
Al-Qudaa'iy the chief of Quda'a clan. The more common account
has it that the name is derived from
Jaddah, the
Arabic word for "grandmother".
According to eastern folk belief,
the tomb
of Eve ( ), considered the
grandmother of humanity, is located in Jeddah. The
Tomb was sealed with concrete by the religious
authorities in 1975 as a result of some Muslims praying at the
site.
Ibn Battuta, the
Berber traveller, visited Jeddah during his
world trip. He wrote the name of the city into his diary as
Juddah.
The
British
Foreign Office
, used to use the older spelling of
Jedda, contrary to other English-speaking
usage—including other branches of the British government, but in
2007 changed to the spelling Jeddah.
T. E.
Lawrence felt that any transcription
of
Arabic names into English was arbitrary.
In his book "Revolt in the Desert" Jeddah is spelled three
different ways on the first page alone.
On official Saudi maps and documents, the city name is transcribed
"Jeddah", which is now the prevailing usage.
History
Jeddah in 1924
Jeddah in 1938
Pre Islam
According
to excavations made in the old city
, Jeddah was
founded as a fishing hamlet in 500 B.C by the Yemeni Quada tribe (بني قضاعة) that left central Yemen
to settle in Makkah after the destruction of the Marib Dam
in Yaman
.
Other archaeological studies have shown that the area was settled
by earlier people since the stone age, as some
Thamudi scripts where excavated in
Wadi Briman (وادي بريمان), west of the city, and
Wadi Boweb (وادي بويب), north west of the
city. And that it was visited by
Alexander The Great between 323 and 356
B.C.
Rashidun Caliphate
Jeddah first achieved prominence in 647 A.D., when the third Muslim
Caliph,
Uthman
Ibn Affan (عثمان بن عفان), turned it into a
port for Muslim pilgrims making the required
Hajj to Mecca.
Jeddah has, since then, been established as the main city of the
historic
Hejaz province and a historic port
for pilgrims arriving by sea to perform their
Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca.
The city's strategic
location as the gates of the Holy City and a port on the Red Sea caused it to
be conquered many times throughout its history.
Fatimid Caliphate
In the 969 A.D. the
Fatimids from Algeria
took control in Egypt from the
Ikhshidid dynasty and expanded their
empire to the surrounding regions including Hijaz - Jeddah.
The
Fatimids developed an extensive trade network in both the Mediterranean
and the Indian Ocean
through the Red Sea.
Their
trade and diplomatic ties extended all the way to China
and its
Song Dynasty, which eventually
determined the economic course of Hijaz during the High Middle Ages.
Ayyubid Empire
After
Saladin's conquest of Jerusalem, in
1171 he proclaimed himself sultan of Egypt, after dissolving the
Fatimid Caliphate upon the death
of
al-Adid, thus establishing the
Ayyubid dynasty which set conquests
throughout the region. Hejaz - including Jeddah - became a part of
the
Ayyubid Empire in 1177 during the
leadership of
Sharif Ibn Abul-Hashim
Al-Thalab (1094 - 1201).During their relatively short-lived tenure,
the Ayyubids ushered in an era of economic prosperity in the lands
they ruled and the facilities and patronage provided by the
Ayyubids led to a resurgence in intellectual activity in the
Islamic world. This period was also
marked by an Ayyubid process of vigorously strengthening
Sunni Muslim dominance in the region by
constructing numerous
madrasas
(Islamic schools) in their major cities.
Mamluk Sultanate
In 1254,
following events in Cairo
and the
dissolution of the Ayyubid Empire, Hejaz
became a part of the Mamluk Sultanate.
Vasco da Gama, having in 1497 CE found his way
round the Cape and obtained pilots from the
coast of Zanzibar
, pushed his way across the Indian Ocean to the shores of Malabar and
Calcutta
, attacked the fleets that carried freight and
Muslim pilgrims from
India
to the Red
Sea, and struck terror into the potentates all
around. The Princes of Gujarat
and Yemen turned for
help to Egypt
.
Sultan
Al-Ashraf
Qansuh al-Ghawri accordingly fitted out a fleet of 50
vessels under his Admiral,
Hussein the Kurd.
Jeddah by
forced labor was soon fortified as a harbor of refuge from the
Portuguese
, and Arabia and the Red Sea were
protected. But the fleets in the Indian Ocean were at the mercy of the enemy.
Ottoman Empire
In 1517, the
Ottoman Turks conquered
the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt and Syria, during the reign of
Selim I. As territories of the Mamluk
Sultanate, the Hejaz, including the holy city of Mecca and Jeddah,
passed into Ottoman possession. The Ottomans rebuilt the weak walls
of Jeddah in 1525 following their victory over
Lopo Soares de Albergaria's Armada in
the Red Sea.The new Turkish wall included six
watchtowers and six
city
gates. They were constructed to defend against the Portuguese
attack. Of the six gates, the
Gate of Mecca was
the eastern gate and the
Gate of Al-Magharibah, facing the port, the western
one. The
Gate of Sharif was south facing.
The other
gates were the Gate of Al-Bunt, Gate of
Al-Sham (also called Gate of Al-Sharaf) and Gate
of Medina
facing north. The Turks also built the The Qishla
of Jeddah
, a small castle for the city soldiers. In
the 19th century these seven gates were minimized into four giant
gates with four towers. These giant gates were the
Gate of
Sham from the north, the
Gate of Mecca
from the east, the
Gate of Sharif from the south,
and the
Gate of Al-Magharibah on the sea
side.
Ahmed Al-Jazzar, the Ottoman
military man mainly known for his role in the
Siege of Acre, has spent an earlier
part of his career at Jeddah - where in 1750 he killed some seventy
rioting nomads in retaliation for the killing of his commander
Abdullah Beg. It was this act which reportedly earned him the
nickname "Jezzar" (butcher), which he carried for the rest of his
life.
First Saudi State and Ottoman-Saudi War
In 1802,
Nejdi
forces
conquered both Mecca and Jeddah from the Ottomans;
when Sharif Ghalib Efendi informed
Sultan Mahmud II of
this, the Sultan ordered his Egyptian viceroy Muhammad Ali
Pasha to re-take the city. Muhammad Ali successfully
regained the city during
Battle of
Jeddah in 1813.
World War I and The Kingdom of Hejaz
During
World War I, Sharif Hussein bin Ali declared a
revolt against the Ottoman Empire
seeking independence from the Ottoman Turks and the creation of a
single unified Arab state spanning from
Aleppo
in Syria
to Aden
in Yemen.
King Hussein declared the
Kingdom of
Hejaz. Later, Hussein was involved in war with
Ibn Saud, who was the Sultan of
Nejd.
Hussein resigned following the fall of
Mecca, in December 1924, and his son Ali bin Hussein became the new king of the
remaining soil of the Kingdom of Hejaz.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
A few
months later, Ibn Saud,
whose clan originated in the central Nejd
province, conquered Medina, and Jeddah,
via an agreement with Jeddans, following the events of the Second Battle of Jeddah.
He
deposed the Sharif of Hejaz,
Ali bin Hussein, who fled to Baghdad
, settling eventually in Amman
, Jordan
, where his
descendants became the Hashemite royal
family.
As a result, Jeddah came under the sway of the
Al-Saud dynasty in December 1925. In 1926, Ibn
Saud added the title King of Hejaz to his position of Sultan of
Nejd. Today, Jeddah has lost its historical role in peninsular
politics, since the historic Hejaz province along the west coast
has been subdivided into smaller provinces, with Jeddah falling
within the new province of Makkah with its provincial capital at
Mecca.
From 1928 to 1932 the new Khuzam Palace was built as the new
residence of King Abdul Aziz in Jeddah. The palace lies south of
the old walled city and was constructed under the supervision of
the engineer Muhammad bin Laden. After 1963 the palace was used as
a royal guest house and since 1995 houses the Regional Museum of
Archaeology and Ethnography.
What was left of the walls and gates of the old city was taken down
in 1947.
A fire in 1982 destroyed some ancient
buildings in the old town center, called Al-Balad
, but much is still preserved despite the commercial
interest to tear down old houses ( Naseef House, Gabil House) and
build modern high rise buildings. A house by house survey of
the old districts was made in 1979, showing that some 1000
traditional buildings still existed, though the number of
structures with great historic value was far less. In 1990 a Jeddah
Historical Area Preservation Department was founded.,
The modern city has expanded wildly beyond its old boundaries. The
built up area expanded mainly to the north along the Red Sea
coastline, reaching the new airport during the last decade of the
last century and since edging its way around it towards the "Ob'hur
Creek" some 27 kilometers from the old city center.
Geography
Most of Saudi Arabia is
desert. The central
region consists of an eroded
plateau, mostly
arid and hot in the summer and cold in the
winter. The western region is
mountainous,
except for the
coastal plain bordering
the Red Sea such as the Jeddah area.
Jeddah borders the Red Sea from the west and the
Al-Sarawat Mountains from the east. It has
no rivers or valleys but it includes
Sharm Ob'hur which connect the Red
Sea to the other end of the city.
Sharm of Salman (Also called
Gulf of Salman) borders the city from north.
Climate
Jeddah features an
arid climate under
Koppen's climate
classification. Unlike other Saudi Arabian cities, Jeddah
retains its warm temperature in winter, which can range from +15
°C (59
°F) at
midnight to +25 °C (77 °F) in the afternoon. Summer temperatures
are considered very hot and break the +40 °C (104 °F) mark in the
afternoon dropping to +30 °C (86 °F) in the evening. Rainfall in
Jeddah is generally sparse, and usually occurs in small amounts in
December. There have also been several notable incidents of hail.
Heavy thunderstorms are not uncommon in winter. (The thunderstorm
of December 2008 being the largest in recent memory, with rain
reaching around 3 inches.) The lowest temperature ever
recorded in Jeddah was 3°C (37.4°F) in the winter of 1995.
Some unusual events often happen during the year, such as
dust storms in summer, coming from the
Arabian Peninsula's deserts or from
North Africa.
|
Jeddah Climatological Data |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
|
Year |
| Record high °C (°F) |
33 (91) |
35 (95) |
38 (100) |
40 (104) |
42 (108) |
47 (117) |
42 (108) |
42 (108) |
42 (108) |
41 (106) |
41 (106) |
34 (93) |
|
|
| Average high °C (°F) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
33 (91) |
35 (95) |
36 (97) |
37 (99) |
37 (99) |
36 (97) |
35 (95) |
33 (91) |
30 (86) |
|
33 (91) |
| Average low °C (°F) |
18 (64) |
18 (64) |
19 (66) |
21 (70) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
26 (79) |
27 (81) |
25 (77) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
19 (66) |
|
22 (72) |
| Record low °C (°F) |
3 (37) |
11 (52) |
13 (55) |
12 (54) |
13 (55) |
19 (66) |
21 (70) |
23 (73) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
17 (63) |
10 (50) |
|
|
|
| Rainfall mm (in) |
5 (0.2) |
6 (0.3) |
1 (0.1) |
1 (0.1) |
5 (0.5) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
25 (1.0) |
31 (1.2) |
|
67 (2.6) |
Pollution and environment
Air pollution remains to some degree an issue for Jeddah,
particularly on the hot summer days. The city has experienced a
number of bush fires,
landfill fires and
even pollution caused by the two industrial zones in the north and
the south of Jeddah.
The water treatment factory and the
seaport contribute to water pollution.
However, the coast of the city can be considered safe, and of
relatively clean quality.
Economy
Jeddah is the second commercial capital of Saudi Arabia . In
addition, the city's geographical location places it at the heart
of the region covered by the
Middle East
and North Africa, with all their capitals within two hours flying
distance, defining Jeddah as the second commercial center of the
Middle East after Riyadh.
Also,
Jeddah industrial district is the four largest industrial city in
Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, Jubail
and Yanbu
.
King Abdullah Street
King Abdullah Street is an important place for companies' offices
and commercial developments. The street hosts some of the most
powerful
conglomerates in
Saudi Arabia such as
Emaar Middle
East and Al-Farsi. Due to the economic boom in this region
there is a central business district planned which would be one of
the biggest CBD in the eastern world.
Tahlia Street
Tahlia Street is an important fashion and shopping street in the
mid-town of Jeddah. It contains many upscale department shops, and
boutiques, such as
Prada,
Gucci,
Burberry,
Chanel and
Giorgio
Armani.
Major organizations headquartered in Jeddah
Jeddah Chamber of Commerce &
Industry
The city has several global and major organizations such as:
Demographics
Popular Saudi and foreign opinion regards Jeddah as the most
liberal and cosmopolitan of Saudi cities due to its historic role
as port and gateway to the holy city of Mecca. For over one
thousand years, Jeddah has received millions of pilgrims of
different
ethnicities and backgrounds,
from
Africa,
Central
Asia,
Southeast Asia,
Europe and the Middle East, many of whom remained and
became residents of the city. As a result, Jeddah is much more
ethnically diverse than most Saudi cities and its culture more
eclectic in nature (in contrast with the more geographically
isolated, and religiously strict capital Riyadh).
Added to the
traditional diversity, the oil-boom of the past 50 years has
brought hundreds of thousands of working immigrants and foreign
workers from non-Muslim countries, the majority originating
from continents such as North America (United States of America),
Europe (Western Europe), and Asia (South and South-East Asia);
there are also many Christian Arabs from the Middle East , coming
from Lebanon
, Syria, Egypt, and the
West Bank and Gaza. .
Culture
Religious significance
A Lady from Jeddah , This photograph
was taken in 1873.
It shows an example of traditional woman's clothing of the
past.
The vast majority of Jeddans are
Sunni
Muslims, with a minority of
Shia
Muslims, and Asian, Western, and Arab
Christians . There are also
non-Muslim/non-Christian Asians. There are no non-Muslim citizens;
while there are Muslims who are not citizens, all non-Muslims are
resident
expatriate workers. The city has
over 1,300
Mosques, and has no
Churches,
Synagogues, or other types of places of worship;
non-Muslims are also strictly not allowed to celebrate their
religion in any way openly.
However, some Filipino
workers report the presence of Churches inside some
Gated communities.
Since the 7th century, Jeddah has hosted millions of Muslim
pilgrims from all over the world in their way to
Hajj. This merge with pilgrims has also a major impact
on the society, religion, and economy of Jeddah.
There is a ban on Alcohol and Narcotics all over the Kingdom.
Anyone found to be involved in usage or handling of Alcohol and
Narcotics is severely punished under "Saudi Rule Of Law" (which is
derived mainly from "Islamic
Sharia").
All business activities and markets are closed (five times a day)
during prayer times.
The Court and Justice System of Saudi Arabia follows Islamic
Codes.
Cultural projects and foundations with a branch in Jeddah
Encyclopaedia of Makkah and Madinah.
Saqifat al-Safa Trust.
Cuisine
Jeddah residents are a mix of several different ethnicities and
nationalities. This mixture of races has made a major impact on
Jeddah's traditional cuisine.
Like other Saudi cities, The
Nejdi Kabsa is popular among the people pf Jeddah, often
made with chicken instead of lamb meat. The
Yemeni Mandi is also
popular as a lunch meal. Hejazi cuisine is popular as well and
dishes like Mabshoor, Mitabbak, Foul , Areika, Hareisa, Kabab
Meiroo, Shorabah Hareira (Hareira soup), Migalgal, Madhbi (chicken
grilled on stone) Madfun (literally meaning buried),Magloobah ,
Kibdah , Manzalah (usually eaten at
Eid
ul-Fitr), Ma'asoob, Magliya (Hijazi version of Falafel),
Saleeig (Hijazi dish made of milk rice), Hummus, Biryani, Ruz
Kabli, Ruz Bukhari, Saiyadyia, , can be acquired in many
traditional restaurants around the city such as Althamrat,
Abo-Zaid, Al-Quarmooshi, Ayaz, and Hejaziyat .
Grilled meat has a good market in Jeddah such as
Shawarma,
Kofta and
Kebab. During
Ramadan Sambousak and
Ful are
the most popular meals during
Dusk. These meals
are almost found in Lebanese, Syrian, and Turkish
restaurants.
International food is also popular in the city. American chains
such as
McDonald's,
Burger King,
Domino's
Pizza and
KFC, among others are widely
distributed in Jeddah, as are more upscale chains like
Fuddruckers and
Chili's.
Chinese, Japanese, and other Eastern/Asian food are also popular.
European restaurants, such as Italian and French, are also found
throughout the city.
The local fast food chain,
Al Baik, remains
the pioneer though. It has served the population of Jeddah and the
neighbouring cities of Makkah, Madinah and Yanbu for a couple of
decades now and nobody in the market has been able to compete it.
Their main cuisine is fried chicken, commonly known as Brost by
Jeddans, and a variety of sea fast food.
Other local fast food restaurants have sprang up such "Al Tazaj"
,serving seasoned grilled chicken (called Farooj) and a side of
Tahina with onion and spices, "Al Tazaj" gained so much popularity
to the point where it opened branches in the United States ,
"Foulameez" serving Foul and Tameez as fast food, "Kodo" and
"Hearfey" , Serving western fast food, "Halawani" , serving local
varaiants of
Shawerma , "Shawermatak"
pioneered
Shawerma sold in drive
throw.
Open-air art
During the oil boom in the late 1970s and 1980s, there was a
focused civic effort at bringing art to Jeddah's
public areas. As a result, Jeddah contains a
large number of modern open air sculptures and works of art,
typically situated in
roundabouts, which
makes it to this day the largest open-air art gallery in the world.
Sculptures include works by a variety of artists, ranging from the
obscure to international stars such as
Jean/Hans Arp,
César Baldaccini,
Alexander Calder,
Henry Moore,
Joan
Miró and
Victor Vasarely and
often depict elements of traditional Saudi culture - coffee pots,
incense burners, palm trees, etc. The fact that Islamic tradition
prohibits the depiction of living creatures, notably the human
form, has made for some very creative modern art, ranging from the
tasteful to the bizarre and downright hideous. These include a
mounted defunct propeller plane, a giant geometry set, a giant
bicycle, and a huge block of concrete with several cars protruding
out of it at odd angles.
Museums and collections
There may be about a dozen museums or collections in Jeddah.
Some of
these, showing a wide variety of educational aim and
professionality, are the Jeddah Regional Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnography
run by the Deputy Ministry of Antiquities and
Museums, the Jeddah Municipal Museum, the Naseef House, the private
Abdul Rauf Hasan Khalil Museum and the private Arts Heritage
Museum.
Media
Jeddah is served by four major Arabic-language newspapers,
Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Madina, Okaz, Al-Bilad,
as well as two major English-language newspapers, The
Saudi Gazette and Arab News. Okaz and
Al-Madina are Jeddah's and some other Saudi cities' primary
newspaper with over a million readers focusing mainly on issues
that affect the city.
Jeddah is
the largest radio and television market in Saudi Arabia. Television stations serving the city area
include Saudi TV1, Saudi TV2, Saudi TV Sports, Al-Ekhbariya,
ART channels
network and hundreds of cable, satellite and other specialty
television providers.
The Jeddah TV Tower is a high television tower with an observation
deck at Jeddah. The tower started construction in 2006 and finished
in 2007 and is a part of the new branch of Ministry of Information
in Jeddah.
Sport
Jeddah hosts the oldest sport clubs in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Ittihad was the first club in the
country, being established in 1928.
Football is the most popular sport
in Jeddah.
Al-Ittihad and
Al-Ahli are well known football
clubs. They are major competitors in both the
Saudi Premier League and the
AFC Champions League. Al-Ittihad won
the
FIBA Asia Champions
Cup.
There are several public football stadiums in Jeddah, such as:
Accent
The Jeddah City area has a distinctive regional speech pattern
called the Hejazi dialect, alternatively known as Meccan or
Makkawi. It is often considered to be one of the most recognizable
accents within the Arabic language.
Pronunciations in Hejazi differ from other Gulf dialects in some
respects. The Classical Arabic qaaf (ق) is pronounced as /g/ sound,
as in "get". Hijazi Arabic is also conservative with respect to the
sound of the pronunciation of the letter ğim (ج), which is very
close to the two sounds considered, by specialists, to be the best
candidates for the way it was pronounced in Classical Arabic,
namely, the voiced palatal plosive /ɟ/ and the palatalized velar
stop /gʲ/. This stands in contrast with many dialects in the region
which use /g/ or /ʒ/ for ğim instead. Some speakers replace the
interdental /θ/ with /t/ or /s/.
Life
Life in
Jeddah is different from many cities in Saudi Arabia. Firstly, Jeddah is a
cosmopolitan city, more so than any other city
in the country; it has many people coming from all over the world,
who share their cultures. It also has many historical buildings,
with traditional designs, and it has lots of buildings near the
beach. The city has very nice beaches and a Corniche where people
like to spend time and relax. Also, Jeddah has the tallest fountain
in the world, named King Fahd Fountain. Then there is the annual
Jeddah Festival. During the festival, there are many games and
activities held in the city. There are shopping sprees, water
skiing competitions, art exhibitions, and music festivals. Not only
that, but the prices are reasonably cheap. It also has a great
shopping district on Tahlia Street, with many designer names
available.
Cityscape
Old Jeddah
The
Old
City with its traditional multistory buildings and
merchant houses has lost ground to more modern development.
However, the city's recent generations have come to acceptance with
the "face of the past". The Old city now helps in shaping the
identity of the Saudi Culture, also showing its consuervative
development to becoming a modern society, while preserving such
areas as the distinict Gabil Market (Gabil Street) and Naseef House
and other traditional landmarks.
The Old City is an attraction to non-Saudis who visit Jeddah on
terms of Business (Saudi issues visit visas for business, and
religious purposes only). In Eid holidays, locals visit the area
for traditional style carnivals aimed for families and
children.
Resorts
The city
has a lot of popular resorts, including Durrat
Al-Arus
, Crystal Resort, Al Nakheel
Village, Sands, Sheraton Abhur, and many
other splendid resorts. Many are renowned for their
preserved Red Sea marine life and offshore coral reefs.
Hotels
The increasing occupancy rates of hotels every year depends on the
number of tourists and hajj pilgrims. In the last few years, Jeddah
received more than 2.5 millions pilgrims per year.
Consulates
One of
three consulates of the United States of America
in Saudi Arabia is located in Jeddah, along with
consulates for 67 other countries such as United Kingdom
, France
, Germany
, Turkey, India, Italy
, Russia
and
People's
Republic of China
as well as countries of the Organization of the
Islamic Conference and the Arab
League states.
Landmarks
King Fahd Fountain
Jeddah's
King Fahd's
Fountain
is a major landmark built in the 1980s and listed
by the Guinness World Records
organization as the highest water jet in the world at ., and can be
seen from very far distances. The fountain was donated to
the City of Jeddah by the late
King
Fahd bin Abdul Aziz which is where the name is derived.
NCB Tower
Built in 1983 and believed to be the highest tower in Saudi Arabia
during the 1980s, with a height over . The
National Commercial Bank is Saudi
Arabia's first bank.
IDB Tower
The
Islamic Development
Bank is a multilateral development financing institution. It
was founded by the first conference of Finance Ministers of the
Organization of
the Islamic Conference (OIC), convened
18 December 1973. The bank
officially began its activities on
20
October 1975.
Jeddah Municipality Tower
This is the headquarters of the metropolitan area of Jeddah, the
new building of the Municipality is one of Jeddah's highest
towers.
Education
The school system in Jeddah has many public and private schools for
both males and females. As of 2005, there were 849
public and
private schools for males and another 1,179
public and private schools for female students. The medium of
instruction in both public and private schools is Arabic with
emphasis on English as a
second
language, but some private schools which are by foreign
entities such as (
International
schools) use the English language for medium of
instruction.
For higher education, the city has several universities and
colleges. The following list includes some of them:
Transport
Airport
Jeddah is
served by King Abdulaziz International
Airport
. The airport has four passenger terminals.
One is the
Hajj Terminal, a special outdoor
terminal covered by very huge tents, which was constructed to
handle the more than 2 million pilgrims who pass through the
airport during the
Hajj season. The
Southern Terminal is used for
Saudi Airlines flights with the
Northern Terminal for foreign and other national
airlines. The
Royal Terminal is a special terminal
for VIPs, foreign Kings and Presidents, and even the Saudi Royal
Family. A portion of the airport was used by Coalition B-52 heavy
bombers during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
Seaport
Moreover, the
Jeddah Seaport which is
the
32nd busiest
seaport in the world (2007) handles the majority of Saudi Arabia's
commercial movement.
Roads and rails
Jeddah
does not have any rapid transit system
but a current plan to connect the city to the capital, Riyadh, via a
train. It is now under construction.
The
Haramain High Speed
Rail Project will provide a high speed rail connection to Mecca
and Medina.
Modern streets connect the city parts to each other.In Jeddah the
main highways run parallel to each other with an eight lane
road.
Heavy traffic on Medina Road
Issues and challenges
Today, the city faces many challenges and issues such as weak
Sewage systems, Heavy Traffic, epidemics
fighting together with pollution issues.
2009 Jeddah floods
The
floods affected the city, and other areas of Makkah
Province. They
have been described by civil defence officials as the worst in 27
years. As of Friday, 29 November 2009, some 106 people are reported
to have been killed, and more than 350 were missing. Some roads
were under a metre (three feet) of water on Thursday, 26 November,
and many of the victims were believed to have drowned in their
cars. At least 3,000 vehicles were swept away or damaged. The death
toll is expected to rise as
flood waters
recede, allowing rescuers to reach stranded vehicles.
Sister cities
Jeddah has 24
sister cities (aka "twin
towns") which are selected based on economic, cultural and
political criteria.
- Adana
, Turkey
- Tunis
, Tunisia
- Alexandria
, Egypt
- Almaty
, Kazakhstan
- Amman, Jordan
- Baku
, Azerbaijan
- Cairo, Egypt
- Casablanca
, Morocco
- Dubai
, United Arab
Emirates
- Istanbul
, Turkey
- Jakarta
, Indonesia
- Johor Bahru
, Malaysia
- Karachi
, Pakistan
- Toronto
, Canada
- Montreal
, Canada
- Kazan
, Russia
- Mary
, Turkmenistan
- Odessa
, Ukraine
- Osh
, Kyrgyzstan
- Plovdiv
, Bulgaria
- Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil
- Shimonoseki,
Japan
- Saint Petersburg
, Russia
- Strasbourg
, France
- Stuttgart
, Germany
- Taipei
, Taiwan
- New York City
, USA
- Xi'an
, People's
Republic of China
See also
Notes
- An article in Al-Riyadh Newspaper
- Jayussi, Salma; Manṣūr Ibrāhīm Ḥāzimī; ʻIzzat ibn ʻAbd al-Majīd
Khaṭṭāb Beyond the Dunes I B Tauris & Co Ltd (28 April
2006) ISBN 978-1850439721 p. 34 [1]
- Ibn Battota's Safari :Tuhfat Al-Nothaar Fe Gharaa'ib Al-Amsaar
- Chapter: From Cairo to Hejaz to Tunisia again , ISBN
9-953341-80-X
- [2] British Embassy website
- [3] Lost in translation. Brian Whitaker.
Guardian (UK)
- http://www.hajinformation.com/main/h301.htm
- [4]
- name="jeddahedu.gov.sa"
- britannica.com
- Asia Rooms.com - Makkah Gate in Jeddah
- Leaflet for Khuzam Palace Jeddah, Deputy Ministry of
Antiquities & Museums
- Preserving Jeddah's Historic Buildings
- The Biet Nassif in Jeddah on
www.asiarooms.com.
- Average and recorded climate of jeddah at BBC
Weather
- Saudi Arabian Water & Power Forum, www.ksawpf.com --
Commerce of Jeddah
- Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper - Report about number of mosques
- http://albaik.com/index.htm
- Museums in Jeddah at www.asiarooms.com
-
http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss/culturecapsulesf2001/Al-Faris%20web/images/oldb41.jpg
-
http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss/culturecapsulesf2001/Al-Faris%20web/images/0009m.jpg
-
http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss/culturecapsulesf2001/Al-Faris%20web/images/JB01.jpg
-
http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss/culturecapsulesf2001/Al-Faris%20web/images/gZ37960.jpg
- treklens.com King Fahd Fountain -
treklens.com
- Statistical information department of the ministry of
education: Statistical summary for education in Saudi
Arabia (AR)
- ibnsina.edu.sa
- bmcmedcollege.net
- .
- .
- .
- .
- .
- .
- Sister cities of Istanbul - including
Jeddah
- Sister cities of Taipei - including Jeddah
References
- Farsi, Hani M.S. (Mohamed Said): Jeddah: city of art:
the sculptures and monuments. London: Stacey
International, 1991. ISBN 0-905743-66-0
- Facey, William & Grant, Gillian: Saudi Arabia by
the First Photographers . ISBN 0-905743-74-1
- Tarabulsi, Mohammed Yosuf: Jeddah: A Story of a
City . 2006 - King Fahd National Liberary ,Riyadh. ISBN
9-960524-13-2
- John F. Keane: Six months in the Hijaz : journeys to
Makkah and Madinah 1877-1989. Manchester : Barzan
Publishing, 2006. ISBN 0-954970-11-X
- Al-Khaldi, Ibrahim: The Bedouin Photographer -
Al-Mosawwir Al-Badawi. Kuwait, 2004.
- Badr El-Hage: Saudi Arabia : caught in time
1861-1939 1997 Published by Garnet, Reading. ISBN
1-859640-90-7
- Captain G. S. Froster : A trip Across the Peninsula -
Rehla Abr Al-Jazeera. Mombai - India, 1866.
- From Bullard to Mr ChamberLain. Jeddah , 1925
Feb. (No.# secrets) - Archieved Post.
- Al-Rehani: Nejd and it's followers.
- Al-Turki, Thuraya: Jeddah: Um Al-Rakha wal
Sheddah. Published by Dar Al-Shrooq.
- Al-Harbi, Dalal: King Abdulaziz and his Strategies to
deal with events : Events of Jeddah. 2003 , King Abdulaziz
national library. ISBN 9-960624-88-9 .
- Didier, Charles: Sejour Chez Le Grand-Cherif De La
Mekke. Librairie De L. Hachette et, Rue Pierre.
- Didier, Charles: Rehla Ela Al-Hejaz - A trip to Hejaz -
Translated from (Sejour Chez Le Grand-Cherif De La Mekke) into
Arabic. 1854, Paris. ISBN 9-960677-14-1 .
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