Jeddah Women Shopping in Al Balad

While many expat women living in Jeddah have shed the once obligatory abaya in favor of normal modest clothing, many Saudi women still wear the traditional flowy black abaya when out in public. 

There are some younger modern Saudi women who have broken with tradition and no longer even cover their hair, but for the most part, many still conform to the cultural norms. 

I'm seeing fewer women wearing the facial veil, called niqab, but there are plenty who still don that too.  The last photo features a woman wearing the ultra conservative head to toe abaya, called jilbaab, which totally obscures the female form altogether, where even her shoulders are difficult to make out.