Herb & Spice Shop

Many smaller shops in Jeddah are stocked to capacity with product.  This shop sells dates, herbs, honey, spices and many other items. 

Red Sea Mall: Pasto Caldo Restaurant

This is an interior shot of the Pasto Caldo Restaurant in the Red Sea Mall.  The chandeliers are amazing and the mosaic on the wall is colorful and attractive.  The food is great and the prices are reasonable. 

Red Sea Mall Dress Shop

The Red Sea Mall is a huge beautiful mall in Jeddah.  This is one of the many designer clothing stores in the mall.  The Red Sea Mall has several levels and 18 entrances.  It offers a family entertainment center, a hotel, and a variety of restaurants. 

Red Sea Mall: Bateel

Shopping is the national pastime of Saudi Arabia.  Store displays in malls are highly competitive with each other, vying for business.  This is a wall display in a beautiful gourmet gift shop called Bateel in the Red Sea Mall.  The shop sells beautiful custom made gifts such as dates, chocolates, and pastries in unique presentations. 

Jeddah Perfume Shop

There are hundreds of perfume shops in Jeddah.  This is one of them  Perfume is frequently given as gifts here in Saudi Arabia. 

KAUST Entrance

Rows of palm trees adorn the main entry road which leads to KAUST, King Abdullah University for Science and Technology.  To learn more about this amazing institution of higher learning, CLICK HERE. 

Happy Holidays from Saudi Arabia!

Saluting Hardees in Jeddah

Hardees global restaurant chain has been in the news lately in Saudi Arabia because it made a bold move in hiring females to work in a few of its restaurants in Jeddah.  This may not sound like a big deal or seem like a reason for controversy, but it is.  To read more about this issue, CLICK HERE. 

We Three Fish

This was dinner at the outdoor fish restaurant I featured in yesterday's post.  We selected the fish we wanted and then they were cleaned and deep fried by the staff at the restaurant.  If you'd like to see more photos and read more about the evening we spent there, CLICK HERE. 

Outdoor Dining - Bedouin Style

This is a very typical and traditional outdoor Bedouin style fish restaurant north of Jeddah.  There is no furniture to speak of, just carpets on the ground with cushions and portable arm rests.  This is the men's section of the restaurant.  It is divided from the family section of the restaurant with a big wall.  Notice that there are also televisions at some areas for watching sports or religious programming. 

SkyWatch: Twin Minarets at Sunset

I love the minarets on the mosques in Saudi Arabia.  I never tire of trying to photograph them. 

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Sunset in the Desert

This photo was taken outside the city of Jeddah.

Glass Sculpture at KAUST

This beautiful stained glass sculpture is one of the first things one sees upon entering the campus of KAUST, King Abdullah University for Science and Technology, about an hour's drive north of Jeddah. 

Our World: Mannequin Legs are Okay

All store mannequins in stores in Saudi Arabia are headless.  When out in public, Saudi women must wear floor length loose-fitting black cloaks called abayas over their normal clothing and cover their heads with scarves called hijab.  In advertising, on product packaging, and in magazines, women's faces and skin are often marked out with black markers.  It seems to be perfectly all right though for store mannequins to wear sexy clothing and show off their cleavage, arms and legs, even though I feel it sends a confusing mixed message. 

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No Wonder It's on Sale...

This abaya was on the sale rack priced at 100 riyals, which is about $25 US.  I'm pretty sure a man designed it ...

Lean Ground Beef Price in Saudi Arabia

Food prices in Saudi Arabia are generally cheaper than in the USA, especially bread and fresh produce.  This label shows the cost of .770 kilos of Brazilian Lean Ground Beef at 26.95 Saudi Riyals per kilo, making the cost of this package of ground beef 20.75 SR.  Converting that into pounds and US dollars, this package weighs 1.70 pounds at $7.19 per kilo (equaling $3.24 per pound), making the total cost of this package of ground beef $5.53 US.

How does that compare to your area of the world?

Clarks in Arabic

SkyWatch: Building Up

This is a familiar sight regarding adding on to buildings here in Jeddah.  Oftentimes buildings are built with just one or two floors as that might be all that the owner can afford at the time.  Later on down the road when he can afford to add on more floors, construction continues upward. 

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Frozen Yogurt Mall Shop

This frozen yogurt shop in the Mall of Arabia is bound to attract customers with its lively decor.

Floral Print Abaya

This is an example of a floral print abaya, shown from the back.  Printed abayas are generally made out of knit fabrics and usually have borders like this one instead of an all over print. 

Our World: Mall Kiosk at Prayer Time

The cloth covered kiosk in the foreground is typical of how many businesses quickly close up shop at prayer times during the middle of the shopping day. 

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.

Saudi Winter Fashions

I just can't imagine seeing Saudi women wearing clothing like this ... especially the white faux fur vest on the left!

AlSaif Center - Home of Houseware

This housewares store is located at Al Shatee Shopping Plaza, where many abaya shops are also located. 

Jackets in Saudi

I have never once been cold in Jeddah in the five years I have lived here.  Not once.  And certainly not cold enough to wear any kind of jacket. Ever.

SkyWatch: KAUST Mosque Minarets

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is a public research university located about an hour's drive north of Jeddah in the seaport village of Thuwal.  Opened in 2009, KAUST offers graduate and post graduate degrees in many of the science fields such as biology, environment, and computers.  The minarets in this photo are part of the King Abdullah Grand Mosque on the KAUST grounds.

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Colored Anayas

This is the colored abaya rack in a very large abaya shop.  Most women wear black abayas in Saudi Arabia, but in Jeddah more and more women are stepping outside the box and adding colored and even printed abayas to their wardrobes.  Brown and dark blue abayas are the most commonly seen colors, but I have seen women in purple too. 

5 Star Hotel (?) in Jeddah

Our World: Three Legged Bench

I was sitting in the car the other day while my husband went into the pharmacy. I looked over and saw this wooden bench on the street corner.

I thought it was interesting how the back right leg was cut off and propped up on cement blocks on a step.

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.

Abaya Embellishments

This photo shows a closeup of the shoulders of a rack of abayas, the traditionally black cloak that Saudi women wear out in public.  While many Saudi women prefer to wear plain black abayas, many women in Saudi Arabia choose to wear abayas with some type of embellishments on them, like beading, embroidery, sequins, printed fabrics, or endless other trimmings.  The fabrics for abayas can vary too, from silk to crepe to polyester to knits.  Colored abayas are still few and far between, but are slowly becoming increasingly popular.  Most abayas also include a matching scarf called hijab, which is worn to cover the hair. 

On the Rooftops: Birds and Laundry

I can see the rooftops of many buildings from my perch on our own rooftop.   I'm always amazed at the number of pigeons I can see.  There is a man who feeds the pigeons here every day. 

CDP Theme Day: My Street

This is the view of the main street near our building from my rooftop.

City Daily Photo features photo blogs of cities all around the world. The first day of each month is City Daily Photo’s Theme Day, and December’s theme is “My Street.” If you like to do armchair traveling, please check out the City Daily Photo blogs – you will see some amazing sights.