Not for Vegetarians - Jeddah Meat Souk

Here in Saudi Arabia, items for sale are often compartmentalized into specialty souks (or markets) strictly for that particular product. For example, there are separate souks for only fruits and vegetables, rugs and textiles, camels, restaurant and kitchen, birds, crafts, freshly caught fish, etc.  So some readers may think this post is gross, and I do apologize for that - but this post has photos from another interesting specialty market here in Jeddah - the meat market.  

My husband tells me that this market has been in the same location down in Al Balad (the oldest part of the city) since he was a little boy growing up there.  It's not that big of a market, but its halls are lined with one meat vendor after another.  Most of the products available are from cows, and just about every part you can imagine is for sale here.

Aside from the usual cuts of meat, you can find hooves, tails, testicles, stomachs, and pretty much every other organ a cow has. Nothing - and I mean nothing - goes to waste.    

Jeddah has a very diverse ethnic population, and this market caters to the needs of the different tastes and cultures of this city.  When we were there early one Friday morning in January, besides other Middle Eastern customers, we saw Asian and Filipino customers as well.  Other customers were making purchases for local restaurants.

I have to admit, I could not identify some of the items for sale at this market as I had never even seen some of the things before.  My husband enjoys eating a lot of the innards occasionally, so he was happy and excited with his purchases.

The Olde Meat Market is located in Al Balad, off of Al Dhahab, just south of Qabel Trail.  If you are facing the front of Nassif House, take the tiny alley road to the right for a block or 2.  The exact location can be found on Google Maps by searching for "beaf market balad jeddah"

Jeddah Cool Building

I'm not sure what this building is in the Al Balad section of Jeddah, but I really like the unusual rounded shape, the glass and the windows.

CDP Theme Day - Jeddah Pre-School

Before this whole coronavirus pandemic affected the whole world, I was fortunate to attend the International Day event at Bear Hugs Preschool here in Jeddah.  Bear Hugs has been in operation in the Al Hamra District of Jeddah since 2003 and has a very diverse international staff as well as students.

The staff and students obviously put a lot of effort and thought into making this event the roaring success that it was.  Each class had adopted a country to learn about, and the students dressed up in costumes representing each country.

In the school's lovely outdoor courtyard area, each class had prepared a space showing facts, traditions, and clothing from each country represented.

The adorable students were rightfully proud of what they had learned.  Dozens of moms attended the standing room only event.  The festivities were kicked off with a parade of the preschoolers (ages 2-6) wearing their costumes and waving flags as they made their way through the packed courtyard.

The parade was followed by a show with the students singing and performing for the beaming moms in the audience.  I was very impressed with the upbeat and happy school, its administrators, teachers, and students.  It was a lovely morning and I'm very happy to have been invited to see the school and attend this fun colorful celebration.

City Daily Photo is an online community of photo bloggers that share images of life in their cities around the world.  The first of every month is Theme Day  for City Daily Photo bloggers.  This month's theme is "School."  Be sure  to visit the City Daily Photo portal to view other participants' entries for today's theme day.

Jeddah - Red Sea Images

These shots of the Red Sea coastline were taken before the whole Coronavirus thing hit.  Enjoy!

See other post from bloggers all over the world at - My Corner of the World

Jeddah Life of a Street Vendor

Jeddah Sculpture - The Rocket

Al Saroukh - "The Rocket" - is one of two similarly themed sculptures created by Salah Abdulkarim, who created about a dozen of the most graceful artworks for the City of Jeddah in the 1970s and 80s. Much of his work is derived from his interpretations of verses from the Quran and makes use of large scale scraps of iron, steel and bronze. 

Among his other contributions around the city are The Mameluke Minarets and Stalks of Wheat.  He was also responsible for the huge mosaic tile mound depicting the solar system which was the base for the famous Jeddah sculpture called The Cosmos. Unfortunately the mosaic artwork no longer exists, as the roundabout it was located in has been dismantled and replaced with a bridge.

The photo below gives you an idea of the sculpture in its natural setting and its close proximity to the Red Sea.

Jeddah's Floating Mosque on the Red Sea

Al Rahma Mosque is better known as Jeddah's Floating Mosque.  It is also called Fatima Al Zahra Mosque.  It is probably the most well known and visited mosques in Jeddah.  It was completed in 1985. For more details about the specifics of the mosque itself, CLICK HERE.