Jeddah: Coach in Arabic

Jeddah: Michael Kors in Arabic

As with women the world over, shopping is the major pastime of many women who live in Saudi Arabia.  Many famous designers have stores in Jeddah. 

SkyWatch: Bubbles in the Air

Street vendors in Jeddah never cease to surprise me with the variety of items they have for sale.





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.

Goodies Display

In addition to being a fabulous restaurant, Goodies at the Stars Avenue Mall in Jeddah also has a terrific gourmet gift section. 

Goodies at Stars Avenue Mall

Interior shot of Goodies Restaurant at the Stars Avenue Mall.

Our World: Cafe Ceramique

I have found a new hobby - painting ceramics.  Cafe Ceramique is located in the Stars Avenue Mall in Jeddah and offer a wide selection of unpainted ceramics that customers can paint themselves. 

I painted the above camel and the magic lamp below.  What do you think?

Cafe Ceramique also offers food and drinks and is a great place to spend quality fun time with the family. For more information, call Cafe Ceramique at Stars Avenue Mall at 02-275-4668




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.

Jeddah's Stars Avenue Mall

Jeddah: Huge Incense Burners

Until I moved to Saudi Arabia, I never knew that incense burners were made in sizes larger than life.  These huge incense burners are seen everywhere here.  Many businesses have them outside their entrances and they are often equipped with smaller incense burners on top to burn the actual incense in.

Attention Getting Storefront

SkyWatch: Jeddah's Yellow Mosque

This is a newer mosque in the city of Jeddah.  It is painted a bright yellow, which is rather unusual - but it makes it easy to identify and spot!




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.

Coming to Life

Jeddah seems to come to life at the end of the day when the lights starts coming on.  It changes the whole atmosphere of the city. 

Jeddah Sculpture: Engineer's Tools

Jeddah is the home to many large and unusual sculptures which grace the city's landscape.  Many of these sculptures are being repaired, refurbished, and relocated.  Many of the sculptures were originally placed in the center of large roundabouts - a nice idea at the time, but with the city's phenomenal growth, these traffic circles have proven to be disastrous for traffic flow and safety.  So the roundabouts are all being removed and replaced with overpasses to help with Jeddah's horrible traffic congestion.  This sculpture is still standing in its original spot on a huge roundabout, but I would imagine there are plans in the future to move it.  It is called "Engineer's Tools." 

Our World: Pets Oasis

There are some pet stores in Jeddah but no that many for a city of its size.  Recently there has been a shortage of cat food for some odd reason.  Friends of mine have desperately searched all over the city for canned cat food and it's been impossible to find.  I have no idea why.




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.

Jeddah Street Scene

Old Days Fish

I don't know that I would have chosen the name "Old Days Fish" for my fresh fish market.  Something was obviously lost in translation...

Pretty Window

This window is in a girls' school in Jeddah.  This design is a recurring theme in the school .  I rather like it.

SkyWatch: Golden Domed Mosque

There are mosques everywhere in Saudi Arabia.  In cities there are mosques almost on every block.  In less populated areas, there are also plenty of mosques.  Along freeways, there are mosques located every few miles to make it convenient for travelers to pray the five daily required prayers.




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.

Open Sesame

Private villas in Jeddah are all surrounded by tall walls and gates for privacy. 

Jeddah Skyscraper

Our World: Baby on Board

Babies are so precious in Saudi Arabia - and that's why it's so hard to believe when I see sights like this every single day.  Most Saudis do not use seat belts and most do not buckle in their kids or use car seats for younger children. In this country women are not allowed to drive either.  So it probably comes as no surprise to learn that Saudi Arabia ranks very high on the worldwide list for traffic accidents and fatalities. 




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.

Compound Residence

This is what the housing looks like in one of the residential compounds for foreign workers in Jeddah.  With the bougainvillaea, terra cotta color and the blue tiles around the windows, I am reminded of Mexican or Spanish housing.

Twin Villas

Seeing identical villas side by side like this is not unusual here in Jeddah.  Many times a large parcel of land will be purchased to accommodate several branches of one family within its compound walls. 

Stylish Villa

I must admit I like the combination of different materials, designs, and colors on this villa in Jeddah.  I think it's rather interesting looking.

SkyWatch: Cosmos Sculpture

My husband is always miffed because I keep taking photos of the same subjects all the time.  I tell him that I am trying to get a better photo of the same subject and that time of day, weather, and angle can make a huge difference.  And when most of my photos are taken from inside a moving car without any time to set up my shots, many times I just have to settle for what I can manage to get. 

This photo is of one of Jeddah's famous public art sculptures called The Cosmos.  I have published photos of this work of art before but when I saw the effects of the sun on this picture, I couldn't resist posting it.  The Cosmos is the work of Ottmar Hollmann, a German sculptor who created many beautiful art pieces for the city of Jeddah.  The Cosmos is one of Jeddah's largest public art sculptures and ranks as one of  the largest sculptures in the entire world too.  To learn more interesting tidbits about this masterpiece, CLICK HERE.




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.

Resort Style Living

This is another shot of the community pool area of one of the residential living compounds for foreign workers in Jeddah. 

Old Jeddah: Sad Truth

One of the things that I find most discouraging about living in Jeddah is the garbage everywhere.  There is not much awareness about littering.  Most Saudis seem to have the attitude that someone else will come along and clean up after them, and most expats seem to have the attitude that Saudi Arabia is not their homeland, so they don't care about throwing their trash on the ground.  Plastic bags are a huge problem and recycling is not common here. 

Compound Pool Area

Old Jeddah: Street Scene

Old Jeddah: Lamps

These were some interesting Moroccan style lamps I fell in love with at the Turkish-Afghani souk in Old Jeddah.  I just love the details and the exotic feel to them.   CLICK HERE FOR A MAP to this souk where you can find baskets, carpets, furniture, clothing, handicrafts, jewelry, and many other traditional handicrafts.

Decay

This photo was taken in the oldest part of Jeddah called Al Balad (which means the downtown).  Jeddah's history dates back to about 500 BC when it started out as a small fishing village on the Red Sea.  Due to its close proximity to two of the holiest cities in Islam - Mecca and Medina, which are both inland - the seaport of Jeddah became the main entry point for religious pilgrims who traveled to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj. It also naturally became a thriving commercial center due to its convenient location along the trade routes.  In early 1900, the population of Jeddah was about 20,000.  Today, about 100 years later, Jeddah's population estimates hover at about 4 million residents. 

Today is the first of the month, which means it's theme day for City Daily Photo bloggers.  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 "Decay."  

Please visit the City Daily Photo portal to view other participants' entries for today's theme day of "Decay."