Jeddah is an old and captivating city. The old part, al-Balad, is easily reached by car and rewards the visitor with teetering multi-storey buildings made from the traditional Arab building material, coral. Many of the buildings have fallen into disrepair but a slow process of renovation is hoping to preserve many for generations to come.
For more information on how the residents of the city use to live before the advent of oil, visit Naseef House which is a former merchant’s home being renovated sympathetically to show life here from a distant time.
Jeddah Mini Guide
Sitting on the coast of the Red Sea, the city of Jeddah is the second largest city of Saudi Arabia and with a population of 3.4 million the city is large in size.
Like most of Saudi Arabia, the area surrounding Jeddah is desert. With very hot summers and even warm winters there is very little respite from the heat.
The city is also subjected to some impressive dust storms during the year that can totally engulf buildings and roads leaving very poor visibility.
Jeddah is a large commercial city and, due to its location geographically as the most central city of Saudi Arabia, it is only a couple of hours flight to other major cities meaning it is in an excellent position for business and commerce.
The main district for business is found around King Abdullah Street with many large and multinational companies holding offices there. The biggest commercial shopping area is situated on Tahlia Street where boutiques and well-known designers have stores to satisfy the most excessive shopping spree.
If you are flying into Saudi there are many routes to Jeddah Airport and so we offer
Car hire Jeddah Airport to our customers at low, low prices.
The city has several popular resorts and hotels. The volume of rooms available corresponds to the number of pilgrims that come to Jeddah every year. Estimated visitors for religious reasons are approximately 2.5 million a year.
The Islam city of Mecca is of great holy significance and Muslims are instructed to make the pilgrimage to it at least one time in their lives. Jeddah is the main city that accesses Mecca. As the city gets very busy, roads have been built to accommodate the number of visitors. The city has main highways run through the city connecting different areas and many have eight lanes to cope with the traffic volume.
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