Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Our World: Crumbling Al Balad

Sadly the condition of many buildings in the oldest section of Jeddah have fallen into disrepair and are literally crumbling.  Strange as it may sound, many of these building are still inhabited by the poor of this city.

 


Be sure to visit OUR WORLD TUESDAY, where family-friendly bloggers share a unique glimpse into what life is like all around our ever-amazing planet.


7 comments:

William Kendall said...

It literally looks like it was hit by a quake.

Jerry Mc Kenna said...

This may be an extreme example but I have seen disheveled living places in the US. When I worked for the US Census Bureau many years ago, I saw what were hidden shacks in parts of NJ.

Susie of Arabia said...

Hi William - The building materials used back then were of course materials that could be found locally. Crushed coral didn't turn out to be exactly the strongest building material to use.

Anonymous said...

How old are these buildings do you think?

Susie of Arabia said...

Hi Kanumommy - Jeddah is over 1400 years old. I doubt that any of these buildings are that old. I know that my husband grew up in Al Balad but he has no idea how old the some of the buildings are. There is a lot of new construction there now too.

Susie of Arabia said...

Wow Jerry - I think many cities in the US probably have areas that many folks don't go to that are like that if they don't have to. Here in Jeddah it's all mixed together in every neighborhood it seems, so it's unavoidable and more prominent to see rundown buildings and shacks.

molly said...

Oh my that does look like things are in bad shape

Mollyxxx