Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Popular Saudi King
King Abdullah has been a very popular, respected, fair and beloved king of Saudi Arabia. He is 88 years old now and became the 6th king of Saudi Arabia in 2005. For the ten years prior to that, he was in fact the de facto ruler of the kingdom when he assumed the position after ruling King Fahd (his half brother) suffered a debilitating stroke. He has served his country all his life and his first official public appointment was as Mayor of Makkah in 1961. An official title of the king is "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques."
While the rest of the world may view social progress in the kingdom as extraordinarily slow, King Abdullah is known as a champion of women's rights. I have been quite amazed at the progress just in the short time I have lived here since 2007. Despite health concerns and amid false reports of his death, the king persists in his goal to give women the opportunities they have long been denied in this society.
King Abdullah's photo can be seen in this country everywhere - on buildings, businesses, billboards, and vehicles.
While the rest of the world may view social progress in the kingdom as extraordinarily slow, King Abdullah is known as a champion of women's rights. I have been quite amazed at the progress just in the short time I have lived here since 2007. Despite health concerns and amid false reports of his death, the king persists in his goal to give women the opportunities they have long been denied in this society.
King Abdullah's photo can be seen in this country everywhere - on buildings, businesses, billboards, and vehicles.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Gorgeous Necklace
Jewelry shops abound here in Jeddah. The gold souks are amazing, but there are plenty of costume jewelry shops too. Saudi women dress to the nines for weddings and a necklace like the one shown here is very typical of the type of jewelry that might be worn to such an event. Sorry I wasn't able to check the price of this beauty, as the shop was closed for prayers at the time.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
"Australia" - CDP Theme Day
City Daily Photo is an online community of photo bloggers from around the world, sharing the wonders of their area of the world pictorially with others. Each month there are different themes that CDP members can participate in. This month's theme is "Australia Day," so even though I don't live in Australia, we CPD members are invited to post about the land down under.
The above photo was taken at an animal park outside of Sydney in 1988 when I was in the travel business. I have been lucky enough to have visited Australia three times. I absolutely adore Australia. I also enjoy taking amusing photos!
Please visit the CDP portal to view other participants' entries for today's theme day about Australia.
The above photo was taken at an animal park outside of Sydney in 1988 when I was in the travel business. I have been lucky enough to have visited Australia three times. I absolutely adore Australia. I also enjoy taking amusing photos!
Please visit the CDP portal to view other participants' entries for today's theme day about Australia.
Friday, January 25, 2013
SkyWatch: Cloudy End of Day
Sorry if I'm boring you with my rooftop sunset photos. I'm not often out at sunset (due to prayer time), and since we moved to this new building we're in and I have rooftop access, I've taken to enjoying the sunsets from my perch on the roof.
To visit MORE friendly skies around the world, fly on over to SKYWATCH where you’ll find beautiful skies posted by bloggers all over the world.
To visit MORE friendly skies around the world, fly on over to SKYWATCH where you’ll find beautiful skies posted by bloggers all over the world.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Giant Incense Burner on Rooftop
In many places around Jeddah I have seen enormous incense burners, which are approximately 4.5 feet in height. Mostly I've seen them outside businesses, and oftentimes there are smaller incense burners sitting on top of them burning incense. I'm not sure of the exact origins of these huge incense burners, but I have seen them frequently. Normal sized incense burners are avalable everywhere here and are often made quite elaborately, sometimes in heavy crystal, wood, or metal. The burner in this photo (left of the satellite dish, lower center) is actually on top of the roof of a building. I remember seeing another huge incense burner on top of another building a while back.
To give you an idea of the sheer size of these larger incense burners, please see these previous posts of mine: Super Sized Incense Burner and Incense on the Street.
To give you an idea of the sheer size of these larger incense burners, please see these previous posts of mine: Super Sized Incense Burner and Incense on the Street.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Fakieh Aquarium Mural on Corniche
The Corniche running along Jeddah's Red Sea coastline has a brand new attraction - the long awaited Fakieh Aquarium. The grand opening was held on January 21 with a large crowd in attendance. The aquarium houses over "7,000 marine animals of 200 species in 155 tanks and can accommodate 400 visitors" at one time. The large mural above appears on an outer wall of the facility.
For more information, please click HERE.
For more information, please click HERE.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
SkyWatch: Modern Architecture in Jeddah
Jeddah has quite an eclectic mix of architectural styles. There are many ultra modern colored glass buildings that seem to be one-of-a-kind designs.
To visit MORE friendly skies around the world, fly on over to SKYWATCH where you’ll find beautiful skies posted by bloggers all over the world.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Jeddah's Space Mall Interior
This is just one small section of a huge open are filled with row after row of racks of clothing. All in all, it's very overwhelming, This mall was originally built as "Chinatown" and indeed it looks very Asian on the outside. To see an exterior shot of this mall, please click here.
I don't what exactly happened, but now it is called "Space Mall."
I don't what exactly happened, but now it is called "Space Mall."
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Our World: Magic Carpet Sculpture
There is a large traffic island in Jeddah which houses many whimsical public art sculptures. This one is a large flying magic carpet that sports a funny looking automobile riding it. The street it's on runs parallel to the nearby Corniche, where many more of Jeddah's sculptures are located.
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.
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.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Typical Saudi Teacup Set
Saudis are very gracious hosts and delight in serving drinks and sweets to house guests. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited in Saudi Arabia, so drinks served range from the largest variety of fruit juices one could imagine to tea or gahwa (Arabic coffee). Hot drinks would be served in tiny glasses like shown here. This teacup set cost 302 SR, or about $ 80 US.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
White Camel Table Base
I saw this ceramic table base in a gift shop here in Jeddah and I thought it was cute. It is a white decorated camel and would make a nice end table if equipped with a piece of glass on top. I'm not sure if the glass is included or not, but the price on the camel is 1195 SR, which is about $ 320 US.
Labels:
accessories,
decor,
fun,
gifts,
home,
Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia,
sculptures,
shop,
shopping,
souk,
souq
Friday, January 11, 2013
SkyWatch: Pretty Clouds at Sunset
To visit MORE friendly skies around the world, fly on over to SKYWATCH where you’ll find beautiful skies posted by bloggers all over the world.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Bracelets in Mall Shop
Labels:
accessories,
Jeddah,
jewelry,
mall,
Saudi Arabia,
shop,
shopping,
souk,
souq,
women
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Our World: Birthday Cake Sculpture
This is another of the whimsical sculptures of Jeddah - a birthday cake with a candle. It is located on the traffic island of Prince Faisal bin Fahd Road, where several other of Jeddah's sculptures can be found.
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.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Friday, January 4, 2013
SkyWatch: Sky Drama
Taken from my rooftop recently as the day was winding down, the clouds created beautiful drama in the sky. December and January are considered the rainy season here in Jeddah, but rain rarely falls.
To visit MORE friendly skies around the world, fly on over to SKYWATCH where you’ll find beautiful skies posted by bloggers all over the world.
To visit MORE friendly skies around the world, fly on over to SKYWATCH where you’ll find beautiful skies posted by bloggers all over the world.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Jeddah's Paul Restaurant
"Paul" is a lovely French restaurant in the heart of Jeddah and part of the worldwide chain of Paul Restaurants. The interior oozes Old World elegance and charm and makes one feel about as far away from Saudi Arabia as one can imagine. Paul offers freshly baked goods, such as delectable croissants, breads, and desserts. The popular cafe is located off of Tahliya Street next to the Sands Hotel and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner from 8am-12 midnite. Phone 02-667-1633.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Giant Faucet Sculpture
Happy New Year! I thought I would start off the new year with some photos I have taken recently of some of the sculptures of Jeddah that I haven't shown you yet. This one is of a gigantic sized water faucet. Many of Jeddah's public works of art are of a whimsical nature and many are blown up versions of objects much smaller, such as this one. I have no idea who the artist is. To see more of the awesome "Sculptures of Jeddah," please click on the tab just below my header at the top of this page.
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