7th December 2016
Picture courtesy Mustapha Najdi
Yesterday afternoon after the asr prayers 'my family' from Jeddah picked us up for a night of exploration. We spent most of the night at Al Balad- 'the city'. Balad is basically the old Jeddah and has now been declared a unesco heritage site. A trip inside Balad takes you back to another era where carved solid wooden doors adorn the entrance of shops coupled with intimately carved windows reflecting the affluent lifestyle of the Jeddawis at that time who were mostly traders and merchants.The windows are in actual fact balconies thereby extensions of the room. The balconies were usually adorned with cushions where guests could sit and enjoy the cool evening air. Al Balad was surrounded by a high wall to prevent invasion by the Portuguese who wanted control of the Red Sea. In 1947 the wall was destroyed with only a few remnants of the wall still remaining today. The house of Nasif located in the middle of the souq is undoubtedly the most well known historical site within Al Balad. The mansion was constructed in 1872 and once again highlights the opulence and grandiosity of Jeddawis at that time. When king Abdul Aziz entered Jeddah after the siege, he resided at Bayt Naseef. The narrow alleyways surrounding the house are graced with all kinds of small shops selling anything and everything. The air is plagued with different odours....sweet smelling itr, 3oud and a variety of perfumes. If you looking for souvenirs then al Balad is the place to visit..Jeddawis are in general very friendly people and whilst walking through the souq you will encounter many curious people enquiring about your nationality and country of origin. In fact we encountered such friendly people who gifted us with expensive perfume. After 3 hours of walking through Al Balad we headed to the famous Tahlia street in Jeddah where you will find expensive branded shops along with beautiful homes and apartments for the rich and famous. My Saudi family resides on this street as well and hence we made our way to their home around 10pm for dinner. We were welcomed in grand style. The majlis area of the home was layed out with all kinds of sweet delicacies that we thoroughly enjoyed with the qahwa (Arabic coffee). After all the formalities we were ushered into the dining room where we enjoyed a spread of Arabic cuisine. Dinner was followed by freshly baked cheese kanafa and caramel creme brulee..... After a night of socializing, we returned to Makkah in the early hours of the morning in time for the morning prayers.....
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