We’re back in Jeddah because we have more options for direct flights out of Jeddah than Madinah. As you can imagine, we are soon going to have to leave Saudi Arabia. We’ve already spent about a month traveling around this big country, but… we still don’t have any idea where we’re going to go next. We could stay in the hotel and debate our options, or we can just stroll around Jeddah and focus on some other things. Option two sounds better, no? And it’s better for you as well, if you’re still reading along we’re sure you’re not tired of Jeddah either. So, we leave the decision as a problem for future us, and we head out into Al Balad.

So, a fair warning, if you’ve stuck along with our blog to learn a bunch of random but interesting facts… this post won’t be that. Today will literally just be a day of wandering around slowly, taking in the neighbourhood, and taking some pictures. To set the mood for the day… we leave our hotel and the first pictures we take are these:

It’s not to say that it’s good or bad, sometimes it’s nice to just slow down and take in what you see around you. And we can even show you some (maybe) better examples of the architectural features we described to you a few days ago.

And, we really hope you realize just how much time we’ve spent exploring the ins and outs of all of these alleyways, literal full days just walking around aimlessly. And guess what! We had apparently still not seen everything. We would have for sure noticed if we had passed this a few days ago… especially since this blog is entirely revolving around trips to watch football so far. Very cool. And with Zinedine Zidane in the background!

We decide that we should walk towards the Makkah Gate again, in case the previous videos didn’t work for my travel partner. And maybe we can post more than one in the future, we’ll see. But, on the way there we go by the weekend market, this time with a picture as proof. Smaller than the market close to the bus stop, but still busy nonetheless.

We go to the Makkah Gate and then start walking back into the main neighbourhood, and what do we immediately see? Before going to Madinah we hadn’t paid much attention to this, but here you can see how the miswak is actually sold on the streets. We were far enough that my travel partner wasn’t too awkward taking this picture. At least that’s what he tells himself.

From the picture you can see the different ways that you can buy the miswak. You have large bundles, different sizes, and individual pieces. The man in the black is actually working at cutting them into the appropriate size and (we’re not sure if you can zoom in and see it) he has a miswak in his pocket that he has been using. The man clearly trusts his own product.

Further in we actually stop to look at a mosque that we’ve walked by countless times while walking through this neighbourhood on this exact route. There aren’t many people around, so it lets us take a closer look without feeling awkward. This is the Moroccan Mosque.

And a bit further we see another mosque, the Faraj Yousr Mosque.

And then, where else would we end up than here? We just can’t help ourselves.

If you have been following along, you know we’re on our way to Jeddah Lake. The monument pictured above marks the end of Al Balad towards the north, and then it’s back to the lovely art around Jeddah Lake.

And then taking in the beauty of Jeddah Lake.

Realistically, who knows how much longer we will be in Jeddah. And since it takes us so long to make it to Saudi Arabia from the other side of the world… we have to make sure to take it all in while we can. And, not to mention that our friends and family are currently experiencing -40 °C weather and we’re here in the sun. Hehe.

And, if we’re at the Jeddah Lake, it also means we’re at the Jaffali Mosque.

Well, this time my partner doesn’t sit and read, instead we keep walking through the neighbourhood, always trying to take different directions to see what else we can discover. We just keep taking random turns at random alleyways until we reach the edge of the neighbourhood again and find ourselves close to the Makkah Gate again, haha. This time we stop and take a picture. You may recognize the building as one that was in the background of the small market-type stalls from earlier today, but this time we took the picture explicitly to highlight the mosque behind it, the King Abdul Aziz Mosque.

Then it’s time to just walk around and enjoy the market. As we’ve mentioned, it’s a nice market to explore in Al Balad. It doesn’t feel touristy at all, and the majority of people walking around appear to be locals off for their evening shopping. We’ve mentioned a bit what we see for sale, but we will repeat one thing, this:

We’re 90% sure it is incense. And all of the bricks you see on the edge are as well. And most stores have this in the very front. If only we were sure what that was made of, what it was for sure, and if we could cross international borders with it, haha. And if my partner didn’t already have his suitcase filled with World Cup things, haha. If only! 

A bit further on we see another miswak stand. But this isn’t just any miswak stand, it’s Mr. Hussein Al-Abdali’s miswak stand. There’s even a sign explaining who he is and what miswak is. We will just copy down the sign to make sure we get the correct information for you.

“Al-Abdali got into the miswak crafting business with his father at the age of four. They exported masaweek from Tihama Al Baha to Makkah. At the age of ten, Hussein became the breadwinner for his family; he visited the valley near Tihama Al Baha to find Arak trees and craft masaweek like he learned from his father.

“Arak Trees

This miswak is made from the roots of Arak trees which are evergreen trees spread across Saudi Arabia. The Prophet (PBUH) urged us to use the miswak, he said ‘Make a regular practice of miswak for verily it is the purification for the mouth and a means of satisfaction for Allah.’ It has medical benefits as it purifies the mouth from bacteria, cleans the teeth, and strengthens the gums.”

Not a bad little description. And since he has been working this since the 1960s and the sign is an official one from Historic Jeddah, it must mean that they and he are good. So, we buy some more, hehe. We take our purchase of miswak back to the hotel, grab some food on the way, and then think and think and think about where to go next… Good night from Jeddah!