Happy Eid - Long Eared Goats

My husband took me to the largest Bird and Animal Souk/Market in Jeddah.  It is far south (we live north), so it was a bit of a trek to get there.  But it was definitely worth the long drive.  The souk has areas designated for different types of animals - all kinds of birds, rabbits, goats and lambs, and cows and camels.  There was especially an abundance of thousands of goats and lambs because today is a religious holiday called Eid al Adha - marking the celebration of the end of the annual pilgrimmage Hajj.  Traditionally families celebrate by sharing food with others, and a favorite is lamb and goat. 

Wishing my Muslim friends around the world a Happy Eid!

Modern Sculpture in Jeddah

Many of my photos here in Jeddah are taken from a moving vehicle - and because my husband usually drives pretty fast, I end up deleting a lot of my photos once I go through them.  While this isn't a great photo, I just really liked how this one turned out - the sun and light clouds in the sky and the colorful sun effect on the modern sculpture.

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Jeddah Sculpture Racing Horse

Jeddah is home to many unique works of public art. This one is a very stylized racing horse made of recycled metals. 

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Family Entertainment Area in Mall

Saudi Arabia is abundant in huge ultra-modern mega malls, with worldwide chainstores, movie theaters, food courts, and entertainment areas.  Like everywhere else in the world, malls are a big attraction here on weekends and during the hot summer months.

Prayer in Public in Sauidi Arabia

It's always fascinating to me to see people gathered together for prayer here in Saudi Arabia. While there are mosques every few blocks, many people just pray wherever they happen to be. In business areas, there are designated places where worshippers meet to pray together. 

Both photos in today's post were taken a few years ago before the Coronavirus situation.  Mosques here have been reopened after having been closed for months, but as far as I understand, admission is limited, social distancing measures are in place inside the mosques, and lingering after prayers conclude is not allowed. 

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Sugar Cane Juice

Besides the amazing assortment of fresh squeezed juices available in Saudi Arabia, another very popular drink here is sugar cane juice.  You can see the stalks of sugar cane standing to the left of the shop's door.  

Jeddah's Blue Glass Architecture

Jeddah's cityscape is adorned with many modern architectural delights. I love the building in the first photo - it reminds me of a zipper.  The blue reflective glass is a prominent feature of many of the modern buildings of this city. 

Pixiliated Woman

It's gotten better over the years, but censorship of women's faces and exposed skin still happens in Saudi Arabia.  It's common to see women's faces pixilated as shown here, or totally blurred out, or blacked out with marking pens, or stickered over - "Creative Censorship."

Camel Crossing Sign

I love seeing signs like this in Saudi Arabia.

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Jeddah Fruit & Veggie Market

There are many small open air fresh produce markets all over Jeddah.  My husband likes to shop at these smaller markets for produce because it's generally much cheaper than buying the exact same thing at a big supermarket. 

Lots of times we just drive up and don't even need to get out of the car.  The workers take our order, collect our items and put them right into the car.  It's convenient and easy.  

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Jeddah Pretty Gas Station

I rather like the pretty combination of colors used in this gas station.

Jeddah Typical Villa

Here is another typical villa in Jeddah - large residence and tall walls surrounding it.  

Jeddah Gypsum Details

Gypsum is commonly ussed here in Saudi Arabia to decorate walls and ceilings.  Frequently it is painted, often in gold leaf.  Saudi taste in decor tends to run more on the formal side.  I've often heard the term "Saudi Gaudy" to describe typical fancy Saudi design elements, from furniture to window coverings and everything in between.  I noticed this gypsum embellishing in a local hotel.  

Jeddah Oud Business

There are many shops in Jeddah that just sell oud and perfumes, like this one.  It's common for the business to advertise by burning samples of their incense in an oversized incense burner outside to attract customers.

Oud is a very popular form of incense sold here in Saudi Arabia.  It is also called agarwood and has a sweet woody scent.  Some kinds of oud are so rare and so in demand that its oil can sell for 1.5 times more than gold. 

Jeddah Villa Unusual Design

Family villas in Jeddah are usually quite large to accommodate large families, plus household help like maids and drivers.  All villas that I have ever seen here are surrounded by high walls to afford privacy for the women of the family.  Also notice the wall extension on the left which adds more height to the already tall wall for even more privacy from any prying eyes from the neighbors.

This particular villa seems to be a combination of different architectural styles that aren't generally used together in the same design - I've never seen castle-like rounded turrets paired together with tall columns. 

Jeddah Entry Arch

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The Coffee Server - in Jeddah

At all functions and events I have attended here in Saudi Arabia, there are always beautifully tailored, traditionally dressed men offering Arabic coffee to guests.  The Arabic coffee is called gahwa and the man serving it is called "gahwa jee." This was at an art event I attended a few years ago.

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Jeddah Villa Gate

Janadriyah Pics from 2014

Janadriyah is an annual cultural heritage festival celebrating the regions, history, arts, and culture of Saudi Arabia.  It is held in an area on the outskirts of Riyadh for a period of several weeks during the winter months, with many permanent structures and buildings just for the festival. I've been able to attend the festival twice and I hope I can again in the future.

I love photos like the top one that shows how friendly and happy Saudi women are.  I think many people have the wrong idea about what Saudi women are really like. I find them to be warm and kind, welcoming and gracious, intelligent and motivated, creative and talented.  I could actually go on and on, as more words keep coming to me to describe them, but you get the idea.   

The gold coin face veil I am holding up in the bottom photo is worn for special occasions, like festivals or weddings.  And it jingles!

Thanks to my firend and fellow blogger Laura/Blue Abaya for taking the photos in this post. 

If you are interested in seeing a slideshow of lovely scenes from the Janadriyah Festival, just click on the box below.

Janadriyah 2013 from Susie Khalil

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Jeddah Art Festival Display

Because we are still isolating due to the virus, I am going through my old photos, since I am not out and about taking photos. Today's pick is of an artist's entry in Jeddah Art Week in February of 2014.  It was like a small room that was totally decorated from floor to ceiling in bold geometric designs and a multitude of bright colors.  Pretty cool. huh?

While I was there, a group of delightful young Saudi women came along and asked me to be in a photo with them. Of course, I obliged. 

Desserts - and Toys Next Door

Scrumptious Dessert

Just enjoying memories of this beautiful scrumptious dessert I had a few months ago at a lovely outdoor bistro tucked in between the sandstone boulders in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia.  

Jeddah Storefronts

The Fierce Red Sea

This photo was taken a few months ago back in February when the winds were strong, causing the Red Sea waves to splash up onto the walkway along the coast.  I love the droplets and the brilliant blue of the water.  

Cheese Alternative?

We were looking for grated parmesan cheese the other day, and this was all we could find - Grated Parmesan Cheese Alternative. The first few ingredients listed are: Food Starch, Water, Palm Oil, Artificial Maltodextrin Flavor, Salt, Powdered Cellulose, and eight more long unpronounceable chemical sounding words. Why? I'd much rather have the real thing! 

Jeddah Produce Market

This is a typical display in a small neighborhood outdoor produce market here in Jeddah.  These markets are conveniently located in residential areas and the produce is generally cheaper than buying it from a large air conditioned supermarket.

Waiting for Customers in Jeddah

"Saloon" here is Saudi Arabia is the word for salon or barber.

Red Crescent in Saudi Arabia

The symbol for hospitals and medical clinics here in Saudi Arabia is the red crescent.  We have found the medical care here to be excellent and affordable, although in recent years prices have gone up a bit.  But it's still way cheaper than costs of medical care in the US. We don't have insurance here either.  

Saudi Street Food Bistro

Zanjbeel Bistro (the Arabic "zanjbeel" translates to "ginger" in English) has an alluring exterior graphic of Marlon Brando from the Godfather. We haven't eaten there yet but hopefully one day we will. They offer Saudi street food.  

Jeddah Wedding Hall at Night

Wedding Halls are a big business here in Saudi Arabia.  They are found in pretty much every neighborhood.  New ones are even more elegant than the ones built before.  Most Saudi weddings tend to be very elaborate and expensive.  I've only been to women's weddings here (only women are in attendance, except for an appearance by the groom and close male relatives), but mixed gender weddings are becoming more commonplace the past few years. 

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Jeddah Neighborhood Mosque

Every neighborhood in Saudi Arabia has a mosque - or several - within walking distance.  Since Muslims pray five times daily, mosques are conveniently located so men can easily drop whatever they are doing when they hear the call to prayer and make it to the mosque to pray. There are mosques in residential neighborhoods as well as business districts. 

City Daily Photo is an online community of photo bloggers that share images of life in their cities around the world.  The first of every month is Theme Day  for City Daily Photo bloggers.  This month's theme is "Neighborhood."  Be sure  to visit the City Daily Photo portal to view other participants' entries for today's theme day.