Back in Action II: The Jeddah Experience

In preparing for Janet's visit, I was faced with the choice of loose scheduling to focus on taking advantage of the limited social and cultural opportunities in Riyadh - primarily restaurants, malls, the old souk (market), a historical museum and more malls - or leaving Riyadh for a side trip to one of the more relaxed cities on the east or west coasts. Fortunately, I scheduled a two-night stay in Jeddah, the 2nd largest city in SA, located on the Red Sea and a popular transition point for Saudis and other Muslims completing the Hajj or umrah to Mecca or Medinah. After extensive on-line review I selected the Jeddah Hilton because of its central location along the Corniche Road facing the Red Sea, its amenities and a special two-night package. After a flat tire/blowout on the way to the airport - our driver and I changed the tire in record time - we had a smooth and uneventful flight to Jeddah. After deplanning at the Jeddah Airport and hailing a cab, we took a 30-minute ride into the city. After confirming that we were Ameriki, the limo driver turned up his radio several decibel levels to listen to an imam preach vociferously. Since I have just begun serious Arabic lessons - I have learned the alphabet and numbers 0 (sifr) to 10 (a'shorah), labelling my vocabularly as meager is giving me far too much credit. However, we did pick up some references to Amerikia - which I suspect were not laudatory.

Having arrived at the hotel in the early afternoon heat - low 90s in Jeddah with considerably more humidity than Riyadh - we were pleased to be greeted by a door man and A/C in the hotel lobby. Well, not only was this the highest quality hotel in which I have had accommodations, it was the most upscale I've ever entered... Booking.com came through, folks! I share this commercial endorsement only to suggest that the hotel itself was a treat in addition to our limited exposure to greater Jeddah. The only disapppointrment with the hotel was that we had expected that the Corniche would be lined with souks and coffee bars but this was not the case. Instead we were within walking distance of the "beach" which in this area was a walkway and narrow band of rocks at the water's edge. The primary challenge here though was olfactory - the beach stank of decomposing fish and stagnant water. Nonetheless, this inconvenience was balanced by the sea breeze, opportunities for people watching and the presence of an ice cream truck - like the one that chimes its arrival at the city parks in the 'Burgh. Enjoying soft ice cream at the Red Sea on a brilliant sunny day - who would have ever guessed. One of two fisherman approached me, confirmed that I was Ameriki and suggested hopefully that I had sufficient US dollars to buy some fish for our dinner. As I had no USD with me and no prospects of our preparing a fish dinner in our room at the hotel, I had to disappoint him.

The real attraction for both Janet and I were the series of large, some huge, open air sculptures along the Corniche. After the drab functionality and red dust of Riyadh these eye-catching and playful sculptures that extend for miles were an unexpected delight. The subject matter ranged from nautical themes - wave-like forms, boats, etc. to giant carpenter's tools (go figure!), to free form abstractions but no human representations, at least that we saw. If you have further interest in viewing these, I recommend that you Google the blog site "susieofarabia" for an extensive photo display and for insights into an expat woman's experiences living a married life in the Kingdom, check out her blog.

Our primary excursion into Jeddah was a long limo (taxi) ride along the corniche to the Old Souk. Both Janet and I envisioned an open air market with vendors hawking their wares under tents. To our mild suprise, the souk was a series of store front shops facing the street with an entrance into a semi-air conditioned urban mall. For those of you who have been following this meandering path, vision Al Shorah NOT Kingdom Tower! The layout followed the typical pattern: clusters of stores selling the same products side by side: jewelry, perfumes, women's and men's clothing, etc. Since we were on a mission to buy gifts for family and friends, this was an ideal arrangement for efficient shopping while we manuevered our way past store owners beseeching us to part with our riyals in their shops - no claims of higher quality or even best value just a plea based on our proximity...

Imagine my delight at discovering an out-door donut shop being a man who never met a donut he didn't want to consume. The icing on the cake (or donut in this case) was a cafe where I ordered a capucchino and drank it leisurely - Ah, the simple pleasures are the often the best! - while Janet searched for perfume. She approached a nearby vendor and began to sample the fragrances when a tiny Saudi woman in full abaya and veil caught her arm and sotto voce and in perfect English advised her to get a price but NOT to make a purchase with him. Instead this lady offered to guide Janet to the vendor she had done business with for years who had the best prices and current inventory that hadn't lost its aroma by exceeding its shelf life. I was really impressed by yet another example of Saudi courtesy to strangers - and it turns out that this woman was quite cosmopolitan, having a daughter who worked for the Saudi embassy in DC.

While Janet and her new friend were shopping, I finished my coffee and did some people watching. However, after 20 minutes, I became uneasy and in 30 started to have heart palpitations. Perhaps this lovely lady was actually the front for a kidnapping ring and (!) ... and other frightening images loomed as I had no way to communicate with Janet by cell phone. I was about to search for a security officer who might speak English when mercifully Janet appeared out of the crowd. The adrenalin subsided when Janet recounted her delightful shopping trip with this lovely lady and how she temporarily lost her way among the corridors in this Alice in Wonderland maze of shops. Obviously this incident encompassed both the low the high points of my excursion. Janet's low point by far was her misjudgment in entering the women's "rest room" facility. Enough said as some things are better to be left to the imagination.

All things considered a very enjoyable visit to an intriguing city, offering a quite different perspective on the Saudi cultural mosaic.