ROSHAN IN AL BALAD

Roshan are the slatted wooden window coverings

Al Balad is the oldest sector of Jeddah

I wish I could have seen Al Balad in its hey day.

It really must have been something.

Many thanks to my friend Aileen Byrne for allowing the use her photos in this post. 

 

MARBLE VILLAGE - MOUNTAINTOP MARVEL

Photo by E J Marquez

Like taking a walk back in time, the historic 400 year old town of Dhee Ayn is also known as the Marble Village. Built atop a majestic mountain in southwestern Saudi Arabia, Dhee Ayn is located south of the holy city of Mecca in a natural oasis of tall green palm trees, tunnels, and a peaceful waterfall.

Photo by Murtaza Hasmi

Located in the small granite village is a lovely and well maintained museum.  There are many steep steps which will take you to the castle at the very top of the village.

A big thank you to my friend, tour guide Mohammed at Najran Tours, for allowing me to showcase these photos for today's post.  Visit his Instagram page  @NajranTours

https://www.instagram.com/najrantours/

https://www.facebook.com/najran.tours

SkyWatch - Madein Saleh's Most Iconic Tomb

Taking photos at Al Fareed as the waning sun lowers itself behind the enormous sandstone rock landscape is a photographer's dream.  Nature's colors intensify and deepen, shadows become more dramatic, and the somber silence seems to amplify the the echoes of voices heard thousands of years ago.

Al Fareed is the iconic symbol of Madein Saleh, the ancient Nabataean burial grounds of tombs carved into the colossal sandstone rocks.  Its name translates from Arabic into "unique."  One of the factors that accentuates this tomb from the others is that it stands alone, the only tomb carved into one humongous massive stone by itself.  Another unique feature of this tomb is the fact that it sports four columns on its face, instead of the usual two. In addition the tomb itself was never completed and was never used for burial.

UNESCO confirmed Madein Saleh as a historic world heritage site in 2008.  

The moon rises above Al Fareed in Madein Saleh.

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Tantora's "Persian Nights" #MusicWithoutBorders

The Winter at Tantora Festival in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, featured world class artists and entertainers from around the globe, including Andrea Bocelli, Kool and the Gang, Yanni, Enrique Iglesias, Lionel Richey, Il Divo, Jose Carreras, and more!

The concert on the evening I attended was a historic event called "Persian Nights," which highlighted four different fantastic musical groups featuring popular older Persian singers, all but one of whom were in their 60s and 70s, proving that they've still got what it takes to bring the house down.

There were even female musicians in the bands and one female Persian singer, Leila Forouhar. While these popular vocalists are banned from performing in their own country of Iran, their talents were celebrated at the Winter at Tantora Festival in Saudi Arabia

Inside the beautiful Miraya Concert Hall, a state of the art facility built just over a year ago, the laser lights flashed and flickered, changing colors with the beat of the music - and history was made in Saudi Arabia as the country welcomed these beloved Iranian performers to the stage.

Buildings of Old Jeddah

Unfortunately many of the buildings of Al Balad are crumbling, in a state of such disrepair that they are beyond salvaging.  The old buildings were made from crushed coral from the Red Sea, which is not the best material for long lasting construction.  The traditional and distinctive old wooden lattice window coverings, called roshan, have also deteriorated from the harsh climate of Jeddah.

SkyWatch - Gate Replica in Jeddah

In the olden days, Jeddah was a small fishing village built along the Red Sea.  There were three different roads leading to the city, from the north, south, and east - and the Red Sea borders Jeddah to the west.  Jeddah was surrounded and protected by a large wall which encompassed the whole city, except where the sea was.  The three roads to Jeddah had large gates through which people entered or departed the city.

Shortly after oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938, Jeddah began to grow much more rapidly and eventually its walls had to be torn down because of Jeddah's expansion.  Now modern Jeddah has several replicated gates around the city as reminders of the past.

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Jedda's Al Balad - Architectural Details

Much of Al Balad (the oldest part of Jeddah) is in terrible disrepair.  There is so much beauty there though, even though it's very old and not in good shape.  This building has beautiful cut out brackets to support the roshan (window coverings that stick out from the building).  The below photo shows the view of the brackets from the side.

Jeddah's Al Balad - Beautiful Old Doors

The beautiful antique carved doors of Al Balad, the oldest part of the city of Jeddah, are very desirable for home decor. The lower left section of the blue door had been stolen last month, but it was returned and that messy ugly orange glue was applied to replace the panel.  The day after I took this photo last week, the lower panel was stolen again.  It's a shame that someone would do that.  Al Balad is a UNESCO World Heritage site - and these doors are of historical value.

There was an unsightly pole supporting the overhang above this beautiful old door in Al Balad.  I can only imagine how lovely Al Balad used to be back in its hey day...

Jeddah's Al Balad - The Old City

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. 

SkyWatch - Al Ula, Saudi Arabia

This past week I have featured posts from my magical weekend trip to Al Ula where I attended the unforgettable first ever Winter at Tantora Festival.  The festival has attracted performers and visitors from the world over and has kicked off Saudi Arabia's offical entry into the world of tourism with a bang.  From the world class concerts to the mystical terrain, to the historical significance of the area, to the warmth of the local people, Al Ula is one of the world's few relatively obscure gems.

Incredible sandstone rock formations are the geographical features that dominate this area of northwestern Saudi Arabia and inspired the ancient Nabataean civilzation to turn many of the huge rocks into carved tombs.  My friend Laura of the amazing blog Blue Abaya has written a fabulous comprehensive guide and history of Madain Saleh with lots of fantastic photos - CLICK HERE to access it.

The natural beauty of the area is stunningly breathtaking.  As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this area is primed to become one of the most popular tourist detinations in Saudi Arabia, after the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, which attract millions of religious tourists every year.

Madein Saleh has been closed to the public in preparation for tourism, but it was opened temporarily for the visitors of the Winter at Tantora Festival, which is running for ten weekends through Feb, 23.  This historical site of Nabataean tombs will then be closed again until sometime next year.

This last photo is of Rainbow Rock and my friend and fellow blogger Laura who writes the blog Blue Abaya.  She has explored more places in Saudi Arabia than anyone else I know.  Her videos and photos of this kingdom are truly spectacular.  You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter @BlueAbaya

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Madein Saleh - Qasr al Farid

The iconic tomb of Madein Saleh is called Qasr at Farid (which means Palace of Farid).  It has become the symbol of this historical archaeological site of the Nabataean civilization and this particular tomb is unique for a couple of reasons.   

First is the fact that it is isolated and stands alone - there are no other tombs carved out of the same sandstone rock that it occupies.  

The second difference is that Qasr al Farid has two extra columns flanking the doorway of the tomb -  a total of four, instead of the usual two for all other tombs in Madein Saleh.  My friend Laura of the amazing blog Blue Abaya has written a fabulous comprehensive guide and history of Madain Saleh with lots of fantastic photos - CLICK HERE to access it.

For more information about the interesting history of Madein Saleh, CLICK HERE.

Al Ula - Madein Saleh "The Guitar"

"The Guitar" is a well known sandstone rock formation in Madein Saleh, which is 22 kilometers from Al Ula, Saudi Arabia.  Madein Saleh is rich in history and was the first archaeological site in Saudi Arabia to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  My friend Laura of the amazing blog Blue Abaya has written a fabulous comprehensive guide and history of Madain Saleh with lots of fantastic photos - CLICK HERE to access it.

From the right position, you can see why this natural rock formation, with its narrow passageway between the rocks, is called "The Guitar."  At a certain time of day, an ethereal effect can happen when the position of the sun in the sky is just right, as the below photo shows.

Note: Winter at Tantora in Al Ula has been extended through Feb. 23rd, adding two more weekends of world class artistic entertainment.  Buy your tickets here:   Winter at Tantora 

SkyWatch: Saudi Tourists at Winter at Tantora

My husband isn't one for wanting to travel around in his own country to see the sights, so it's always gratifying to me when I do see other Saudis who have more of an interest is this country than my own husband does.  This past weekend I traveled to Al Ula for the first ever Winter at Tantora Festival. The highlight of each of the eight weekends of the festival is a special concert featuring world class musicians and performers from around the world.  It was the most amazing weekend trip I have ever taken.

My friend Laura of the amazing blog Blue Abaya has written a fabulous comprehensive guide and history of Madain Saleh with lots of fantastic photos - CLICK HERE to access it.

To see my post about the concert I had the pleasure of attending at Winter at Tantora and to see the awesome venue, CLICK HERE.

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SkyWatch Yanbu Historic Area

This is a lovely building located in the historical district of Yanbu.  Many of the buildings in this area are crumbling, but there is an effort to revitalize and restore some of the buildings here.  This building houses handmade crafts.  Not far from here is the crumbling ruins of a house that was occupied by Lawrence of Arabia back in the early 1900s.


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Jeddah: Antique Home Decor

Candelabras, a tree of incense burners, and fancy rosewater sprinklers (called "marrash" in Arabic) adorn the top shelf of this antique chest in a museum in Jeddah's historic district called Al Balad.  Each of these home accessories served important purposes in the early days in Saudi Arabia. Each is still a popular item still found in most homes today. 

To learn more about the rosewater industry and its history in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco World Magazine published a fascinating article 20 years ago about this subject.  CLICK HERE to read it.  

Jeddah: Old Town Balad Window

For me, this crudely carved sold wood window covering has great appeal and charm.  It is in the oldest historic part of Jeddah, called Al Balad. It's a shame that many of the buildings are crumbling or have been destroyed by fires over the years.  

Jeddah: Al Balad Hanging Lamps

The old historic town of Jeddah, called Al Balad, continues to undergo massive efforts to revitalize this part of the city.  Just since I arrived 10 years ago, the evolution has been quite remarkable and encouraging.  Many of the old salvageable buildings have been brought back to their former glory, carefully maintaining the integrity of their era.  Several old family residences are now open to the public for visitation and are chock full of relics from the past.  These buildings are known by the names of the families who built and resided in them for many years.

Saudi Emblem Car Decal

The symbol of the palm tree above two crossed swords became the national emblem of Saudi Arabia in 1950.  

The date palm tree is a dynamic resource of the country. The edible date portion supplies a valuable source of nutrition. The rest of the tree provides value as well in the making of functional objects like, baskets and rope. 

The crossed swords on the emblem represent the unification of the Hejaz and Najd areas by Ibn Saud, which along with the tribes of the eastern and southern regions, all came together in 1932 to become the country of Saudi Arabia.  

Skywatch: Museum of Heritage and Civilization

Even though the big sign above the gate says it's the "Museum of Abdul Raouf Hasan Khalil Heritage and Civilization," I haven't been able to locate any information at all about this interesting building.

There is another building located in a different part of the city built by the same man (who, by the way, was my husband's uncle!) that houses the Tayebat Museum.

I do know that he had built a museum that burned down years ago.  Unfortunately I don't know what this building is used for or any details.  If anyone has any information, please feel free to comment.



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