Al Balad means "the city" in Arabic. It's what the oldest part of Jeddah is called. Many of the buildings are crumbling - they are mostly built of crushed coral from the Red Sea, not exactly the most sturdy of building materials, but it's what they had available way back when. A few years ago, Al Balad was named a UNESCO World Heritage site, so there have been efforts to save parts of Al Balad. I love going down there because it is a truly fascinating place.
1 comment:
I wouldn't have thought of crushed coral as a building material.
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