Raffles 1887
Bride of the Red Sea
More than a gateway to Saudi Arabia's holy cities, Jeddah was where ideas arrived, lingered and spread across the Muslim world. From coral-stone merchant houses and ancient mosques to contemporary galleries and pristine Red Sea reefs, Jeddah is a city shaped by travellers. Lonely Planet author and historian THARIK HUSSAIN, a former resident of the city, guides us through.
JUST before sunset, the adhan (call to prayer) drifts across Al Balad. Shopkeepers pull down shutters; cats emerge from the shadows and the last shafts of sunlight cascade down the honey-coloured façades of Jeddah's old coral-stone houses. High above the alleyways, carved wooden rawasheen glow amber against the darkening sky, just as they have for centuries.
Some people say Jeddah has been here since the beginning; the beginning of humanity itself. They point to the city's name, which means ‘grandmother’ in Arabic, and to the belief that Hawa or Eve, the grandmother of mankind, is buried here. Travellers in the 19th century – the last to see her shrine before it disappeared – described a vast tomb enclosed by crenelated walls and crowned with a dome. Today, its precise location is uncertain, but the story endures.
For centuries, would-be Hajjis crossed the Red Sea and stepped ashore here. They came from Morocco and Malaysia, Zanzibar and Istanbul, Bosnia and Bengal. Some returned home having fulfilled their obligation to God. Others settled, married and built lives here. In time, these arrivals transformed Jeddah into one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the Islamic world, a place where family histories stretch across continents and where the wider Muslim world has long found a home. Ancient Jeddah – the old town – tells that story better than anywhere.
Recognised by UNESCO, Al Balad remains a maze of narrow lanes lined with grand, old merchant houses fashioned from coral blocks quarried from the seabed. Their towering façades are screened by delicately carved rawasheen, wooden balconies designed to let light and air in but keep prying eyes out. Among the finest is Beit Nassif, once one of Jeddah's grandest private residences and later used by King Abdulaziz after his entry into the city. Its airy reception rooms, elegant staircases and shaded courtyards speak of a period when Jeddah sat at the crossroads of global trade and pilgrimage.
The city's mosques tell a similar story. The restored Al Shafi'i Mosque and the ruins of the Hanafi Mosque recall two of Islam’s greatest theologians. They sit a stone’s throw from mosques named after the early caliphs Abu Bakr and Uthman, on a map of Jeddah’s intellectual heritage. More than a gateway to the holy cities, Jeddah was where ideas arrived, lingered and spread across the Muslim world.
As the evening cools, the city migrates towards the Corniche. Families gather beside the water, children race bicycles and scooters along the promenade and locals cast lines into the Red Sea. In the distance, Al Rahma Mosque appears to float above the waves and beyond it lies another Jeddahn treasure: some of the finest coral reefs in the region. Descend beneath the surface and the city gives way to an explosion of colour with gardens of coral alive with iridescent reds, yellows and blues, where hammerhead sharks chase reef fish through clear blue water.
Back on land, a different sort of artistry is under way. At Hayy Jameel, galleries, cinemas and performance spaces have transformed a former industrial district into the centre of Saudi Arabia's contemporary arts movement. The conversations taking place here may be modern, but they continue a tradition that has defined Jeddah for centuries: openness to ideas from elsewhere.
The same story is told on the plate. In Little India, restaurants serve fragrant curries rooted in generations of South Asian migration. Elsewhere, Ethiopian injera, Indonesian nasi goreng and West African jollof rice reflect communities that first arrived as pilgrims and then became part of the city itself.
Like the grandmother whose name it bears, Jeddah has always welcomed strangers. Pilgrims still pass through on their way to the holy cities, just as they always have. Yet what lingers is a city shaped by hospitality itself. Jeddah remains what it has always been: a gateway to the world.
THARIK'S TOP 5
Al Shafi'i Mosque
One of the oldest mosques in Jeddah, Al Shafi'i stands at the heart of Al Balad. Its soaring minaret and beautifully restored courtyard embody the city's long association with pilgrimage, learning and the great scholars of Islam.
Beit Nassif Museum
Among the most celebrated coral-stone houses in the old city, Beit Nassif once hosted King Abdulaziz and generations of merchant elites. Today this elegant introduction to Jeddah's architectural heritage is also home to an excellent museum of ancient artefacts and what was once the only tree in Jeddah.
The Corniche & Floating Mosque
Jeddah's waterfront is where the city gathers. Come at sunset to stroll beside the Red Sea, watch fishing boats drift across the horizon and admire the Floating Mosque seemingly suspended above the water.
Hayy Jameel
The centre of Saudi Arabia's contemporary arts movement, Hayy Jameel brings together galleries, exhibitions, cinema and performance spaces under one roof. It is proof that Jeddah's creative energy remains as vibrant as ever.
The Red Sea Reefs
Just offshore lies one of the city's greatest treasures. Dive into the warm waters of the Red Sea to discover coral gardens, tropical fish and wreck sites that rank among the most rewarding underwater experiences in the region.
Selected photography by Tharik Hussain.
Tharik Hussain is an author, historian & editor of the Lonely Planet Guide to Oman, UAE & the Arabian Peninsula
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