Enjoy Jeddah’s extensive cultural scene: museums, mosques and more
Let the sights and sounds of this city serve as the backdrop to your next visit to Saudi. Between its architecture and art, you’ll never run out of magical experiences.
No Saudi city is as diverse as Jeddah, and this is amply reflected in its boundless cultural scene. Look, for example, at the iconic sculptures by the likes of Joan Miró and Henry Moore that speckle the corniche waterfront, or at the challenging work of contemporary Saudi artists that show at the Athr Gallery. See also the Darat Safeya Binzagr gallery, the life’s work of Jeddah artist Safeya Binzagr, who was the first Saudi woman to hold a solo exhibition back in 1968.
It is also a city of near-constant reinvention. In Al Balad, perhaps Saudi’s most evocative historical quarter, and a UNESCO heritage site, ancient coral stone houses are being restored, and new heritage-focused galleries, woodwork workshops and cafes are springing up in once-abandoned buildings. While Al Balad’s labyrinthine Souq Al Alawi feels like a trip to the past, the boxlike Gucci and Prada stores at the Boulevard shopping plaza to the north gleam like the future. This is Jeddah: a complex tapestry of history and culture, from the Hijaz region and far beyond, but always with an eye on tomorrow. Here are a few spots where you can soak in Jeddah’s culture.
Nasseef House
On a plaza in the heart of Al Balad, this beautiful 106-room coral stone mansion was built in 1881 for wealthy merchant Omar Nasseef Efendi, and in 1925 was the home of Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, who would become the first king of a unified Saudi Arabia. With its carved roshan windows, roof terrace chambers and wide stairwells on which camels used to ascend, it is now a captivating museum and a portal to Saudi’s ancient past.
DISCOVER MORESouq Al Alawi
Get lost in the narrow alleyways of Souq Al Alawi. Set within the walls of the old town, this is one of Saudi’s largest traditional markets and a hive of color, scents and sounds. Wander stores and stalls laden with well-priced goods — spices, incense, textiles and jewelry are just the tip of the iceberg — or peruse carts brimming with delicious treats. The souq is especially enticing at sunset, when the call to prayer sings out through the lanes.
DISCOVER MOREJeddah’s Floating Mosque
Jutting out into the Red Sea with its iconic pale blue dome, the white marble Al Rahma Mosque was built in 1985 and has become one of the city’s best-loved places of worship. Stilts suspend it above the lapping waves, and the mosque appears to float above the waters below at high tide. The circular interior is a beautiful tribute to traditional Islamic geometric design, with stained-glass windows and elaborate tile patterns. Praying here before watching the sun set over the Red Sea has become a quintessential pilgrim ritual, but Jeddah’s floating mosque is a favored draw for tourists too.
DISCOVER MOREThe Tayebat Museum
For a fascinating look into Jeddah’s long and cosmopolitan past, take a trip to the Tayebat Museum for a superbly curated representation of the city’s 2,500-year history. Located in the Al Faisaliyah district, the multiroom museum complex re-creates the traditional Hijazi architecture of the old city, with bay windows overlaid with intricate wooden latticework and ornate coral masonry. With several floors of in-depth exhibits, the museum offers a living history lesson on the foundation of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and the wider Arabian Peninsula. There is also an entire floor dedicated to the city’s rich Islamic heritage.
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