JEDDAH SCULPTURES MOVED

The Cosmos is one of Jeddah's largest public art sculptures. Therefore having to relocate it a few years ago because the large roundabout it was located on was replaced with an overpass proved to be a massive undertaking.  But it was accomplished successfully and it now sits at the same general location next to the new overpass.

 The same thing happened with Jeddah's Bicycle sculpture when the roundabout was replaced with an overpass.  This shot was taken a few blocks away from the intersection so you can get a perspective of how large the sculpture really is.  

JEDDAH TOOL SCULPTURES

BUILDER'S PLUMBLINE - BY MUSTAFA SENBEL

"ENGINEER'S TOOLS" - PROTRACTOR, COMPASS & RULERS

"CONSTRUCTION TOOLS" - WHIMSICAL SAW AND WRENCH,

WHICH NO LONGER EXIST IN JEDDAH

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TEMPORARY CONSTRUCTION MURALS

ARTWORK FEATURING LANDMARKS AND SCULPTURES AROUND JEDDAH

MURALS SET UP AS TEMPORARY BARRIERS HIDING CONSTRUCTION MESS

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PUBLIC ART OF JEDDAH

THE ILLUMINATED GLOBE - BY JULIO LAFUENTE

THE ACCIDENT - BY JULIO LAFUENTE

SCIENCE & RELIGION - BY JULIO LAFUENTE

THE VERSE BOAT - BY JULIO LAFUENTE

STALKS OF WHEAT - BY SALAH ABDULKARIM

THE LIGHTHOUSE (ALSO KNOWN AS THE MILKCAN)

FAMILY

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JEDDAH'S SUNFLOWER FIELD FOUNTAIN

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SOME SCULPTURES OF JEDDAH

THE ACCIDENT by JULIO LAFUENTE

A WHIMSICAL REFLECTION OF JEDDAH DRIVERS

AL-SAROUKH by SALAH ABDULKARIM

SHOWS USES OF STEEL, FROM SWORDS TO MACHINERY TO SPACECRAFT

SUNFLOWER FIELD FOUNTAIN by EILA HILTUNEN

ONE OF THE FEW JEDDAH SCULPTURES BY A WOMAN

I've posted many photos over the years of the fascinating sculptures of Jeddah. Some can no longer be found, as they did not fare well in the brutal elements of this place.  You can see more of these sculptures by clicking on the Sculptures tab under my header at the top.  You will be amazed at the wide varietyof sculpture this city has.   

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JEDDAH'S BEAUTIFUL SUNFLOWER FIELD FOUNTAIN

One of the few large artworks in the city of Jeddah that was actually created by a female, the Sunflower Field Fountain is one of my absolute favorites.  The artist is Eila Hiltunen, an accomplished sculptor from Finland.  Standing in a lagoon along the Corniche next to the Red Sea, the corrosion resistant stainless steel fountains consists of seven elegant larger than life sunflowers.

Most times when I have driven by over the years, the fountain is usually not operating, so I was thrilled to see it spraying recently on a Friday morning.  The photos do not capture the richness of the shimmering gold colors shining in the sun that are much more vibrant when the fountain is spraying.  It was magical seeing the fountain working!

 

ONE OF THE TALLEST FOUNTAINS IN THE WORLD

YELLOW - CLOSEUP OF KING FAHD FOUNTAIN

YONDER - VISIBLE FOR MILES

YIPPEE - FOR DETAILS ABOUT KING FAHD FOUNTAIN, CLICK HERE.

Thanks to my friend and terrific photographer Abdullah Ali for allowing me to use the photos in today's post.  You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter  - @ayaa1977  

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Sculpture Against the Sky

It's difficult to get a good photo of this particular sculpture since it is located on a busy roadway and it's impossible to stop and take a photo. I believe this is the work of German artist Ottmar Hollman, as many of his sculptures in Jeddah are similar in composition and materials. He preferred working in cast alloy, with intricate carved designs on his pieces. Hollman made a total of 12 works of art for the city of Jeddah, with several of his sculptures being among the most well known and beloved in the city.  I'm not sure of the name of this sculpture but I'm pretty sure it's the work of Hollman. 

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.

Jeddah Boat Sculpture - Now Gone

Jeddah is home to hundreds of works of art that grace the landscape of the city.  Many of the sculptures used to occupy the space in the center of traffic circles, many of which have been replaced in recent years with bridges, tunnels, or normal intersections with stoplights.  Some of the sculptures have been moved to different spots off to the side in the same intersection or to totally different locations around Jeddah.  Still other sculptures have not survived, like this one. 
This boat sculpture was one of the largest sculptures of this metropolis on the Red Sea. The ship's sails actually spelled "Allah."
I have to admit, this sculpture was not one of my favorites, so I'm not too torn up about it being gone now.  I found it odd looking and when it needed to be repainted, it looked pretty tacky.   

Jeddah Sculpture - The Cosmos

Many enormous sculptures were placed around Jeddah in the middle of huge traffic circles since the 1970s. However with the steady population growth of this city since then, these traffic circles became burdensome, dangerous, and inefficient for traffic flow.  So in recent years, the traffic circles have been dismantled one by one and have been replaced with a system of normal intersections, bridges, or tunnels. 

The intersection where the Cosmos is located is still under construction. The ginormous mound base on which it stood for many years is now gone, replaced now with an overpass.  The mound was covered with millions of pieces of colorful mosaic tiles depicting the solar system.  The Cosmos is one of the largest sculptures in the world and was the work of German sculptor Ottmar Hollmann. It represents orbits, galaxies, and planets.  For more information about The Cosmos, CLICK HERE. 

Jeddah's Honeycomb Sculpture

The Honeycomb sculpture sits in the middle of a roundabout of Jeddah. It appears to be made of concrete.  Named The Honeycomb for obvious reasons, this sculpture resembles a cross section of the hexagon shaped wax inside a beehive.  

Honey is very popular in this region of the world, and can be bought by the kilo or complete with the honeycomb, as I posted a while back on my blog in this post. 

Jeddah's Globe Roundabout

A few years ago the flagpoles were added around one of Jeddah's busiest traffic circle -the huge roundabout that sports one of the most well known and beloved sculptures in Jeddah.  "The Globe" is an enormous stained glass work of art by the Spanish architect and artist Julio Lafuente.  He was one of the most prolific sculptors who made many pieces of public artwork for the City of Jeddah during the 1970s and 1980s, a period of time called the Jeddah Beautification Project.

Jeddah Castle Architecture

Jeddah has quite a variety of architectural styles all over the city. This building looks like a huge castle.

Jeddah Blue Glass Highrises

I don't know if major cities have this same phenomenon of having lots of blue glass highrise buildings, but Jeddah sure does.  One day I was clicking away as I traveled north on Medina Road, and when I got the photos onto my laptop, I was amazed at the sheer number of blue glass buildings there were jusst on this one main street in Jeddah. 

I have only posted three of them here on this post, but there had to be several dozen.  What is also amazing is the different architectural styles utilizing the blue glass in a variety of ways. 

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.

Jeddah's Sunflower Field Fountain at Dusk

The Sunflowers Fountain is one of my favorite sculptures in Jeddah.  I have never once seen the fountain in operation however - so I'm not sure if it's broken or what the problem with it is.  It sits in the middle of a lagoon near the Corniche which runs along the Red Sea coastline.  This graceful work of art is one of the few art pieces made for the city of Jeddah that is credited to a woman.  Eila Hiltunen was a Finnish sculptor who designed this stainless steel fountain in the 1980s. Her most famous artwork is the Sibelius Monument, located in Helsinki.

A big "Thanks" to my friend and amazing photographer Abdullah Yahya for allowing me to share this beautiful photo for today's post.  Stay tuned for more fantastic pics from around Saudi Arabia taken by Abdullah.  Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @ayaa1977

Jeddah's King Fahd Fountain

Today's post features four photos of the world's tallest fountain, King Fahd's Fountain of Jeddah. Its spray reaches heights of over 300 meters, more than a third higher than the 2nd highest fountain in the world in St. Louis, Missouri. 

It is generally best viewed at the end of the day before sunset and is a spectacular sight that can be seen from many vantage points close to the Red Sea coastline during the evening because it is lit up.  It is a similar design to the fountain in St. Louis and another one in Geneva, Switzerland.

The base of the fountain is in the form of a large incense burner from which the forceful spray emanates.  It is only viewable from across the waters and is located on a peninsula which also houses a palace.

A big "Thanks" to my friend and amazing photographer Abdullah Yahya for allowing me to share these beautiful photos for today's post.  Stay tuned for more fantastic pics from around Saudi Arabia taken by Abdullah.  Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @ayaa1977