Jeddah Scenes from Gold Souk

Scenes from Jeddah's Bastah Market

Jeddah's Bastah Market is a fun open air market which happens every Friday evening in the winter months through February 16th.

Row after row of booths offer a variety of foods, dessert treats, and drinks, as well as handmade crafts and jewelry and lots of imaginative items.    

For more information and photos featuring this fabulous market, CLICK HERE.

Jeddah: Textile Souk Scene

A favorite textile and clothing souq of Jeddah is called Makarona Souq.  It's located on the busy street of Makarona, which was named that because a long time ago, there was a pasta / macaroni factory located on this road.  This souq offers a great selection of fabrics and trims, custom tailor shops, and off the rack abayas. 

Jeddah: Mosque Entrance Al Balad

This is the entrance to a mosque located in the middle of a souk in Al Balad.  Employees and shopkeepers close down their shops at prayer times and come here to pray.  

Our World: Busy Jeddah Souk

Down in the oldest part of Jeddah called Al Balad are some of the city's oldest thriving souks.  One can find just about anything the heart desires here.  It is a place where negotiating for the price you wish to pay is an art form.

 


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Jeddah: Young Vendors at Souk

Whenever I go down to the souks in Al Balad or the huge outdoor fruit and vegetable market in Jeddah to take have photos, the young vendors are usually very obliging and eager to pose for me. 

CDP Theme Day: Movement

Many of the narrow streets in Al Balad - the oldest section of Jeddah - are so narrow that they cannot accommodate vehicles.  This scene is from the textile souk, where there is constant activity moving bolts of fabric on man-powered flatbeds from one shop to another.

Today is the first of the month, which means it's theme day for City Daily Photo bloggers.  City Daily Photo is an online community of photo bloggers from around the world, sharing the wonders of their area of the world pictorially with others.  Each month there is a different theme that CDP members can participate in.  This month's theme is "Movement."  

Please visit the City Daily Photo portal to view other participants' entries for today's theme day of "Movement."  

Napping

At first glance there may not seem to be anything unusual about this photo.  But if you look closely on the floor of shop, you can see a napping shopkeeper's feet sticking out. 

Yellow Men at Al Halaga

Al Halaga is what the big fruit and vegetable market in Jeddah is called.  The foreign workers who are employed there wear these bright yellow jumpsuits.  The fresh produce market is a very colorful and interesting place where amazing deals can be had. 

Entrance to Fruit & Vegetable Market

This is the main entrance to the enormous fresh fruit and vegetable souk (market) here in Jeddah.  It is the dispensary for fresh produce for the city, selling to supermarkets, street vendors, restaurants, and individuals.  Most items are sold in bulk and the prices are very reasonable.  The men in the yellow jumpsuits are foreign workers employed at the souk.

Vegetable Stand at Night

This is a typical night scene at an open air fruit and vegetable market in Jeddah.  This particular market is set up for customers to drive up and select their merchandise without even getting out of the car.

Pedestrian Crossing at the Fresh Produce Market

This is a scene at the huge open air fruit and vegetable market in Jeddah.  Cars are not allowed inside the numerous wide aisles which are filled with vendors, shoppers, and flatbeds.  I find this place amazing, although I prefer going during the cooler winter months.

Today is the first of the month, which means it's theme day for City Daily Photo bloggers.  City Daily Photo is an online community of photo bloggers from around the world, sharing the wonders of their area of the world pictorially with others.  Each month there are different themes that CDP members can participate in.  This month's theme is "Pedestrian Crossing"  

Please visit the City Daily Photo portal to view other participants' entries for today's theme day of "Pedestrian Crossing." 

Green Lit Hookah Shop

Smoking in public places is another issue where I have seen progress in Saudi Arabia in the five years I have lived here.  Moving to KSA from a smoke-free environment, I was not happy to discover smoking was allowed here.  Smoking was finally banned at the kingdom's airports in 2011.  Late last year a ban was enforced on smoking in public places, outlawing it in places like restaurants, malls, etc.  Although some people continue to smoke in malls, etc., defying the ban, I have to admit that there has been a great improvement.  Hookah lounges are allowed to offer smoking in open outdoor spaces.

Spice Up Your Life

Spices, nuts, seeds, and beans are often sold in bulk or in separate shops or dedicated areas of larger stores.  An employee will package up your order.  These grocery items are much cheaper here in Saudi Arabia than in the states. 

Jeddah's Space Mall Interior

This is just one small section of a huge open are filled with row after row of racks of clothing.  All in all, it's very overwhelming,  This mall was originally built as "Chinatown" and indeed it looks very Asian on the outside.  To see an exterior shot of this mall, please click here.

I don't what exactly happened, but now it is called "Space Mall."

Typical Saudi Teacup Set

Saudis are very gracious hosts and delight in serving drinks and sweets to house guests.  Alcoholic beverages are prohibited in Saudi Arabia, so drinks served range from the largest variety of fruit juices one could imagine to tea or gahwa (Arabic coffee).  Hot drinks would be served in tiny glasses like shown here.  This teacup set cost 302 SR, or about $ 80 US. 

White Camel Table Base

I saw this ceramic table base in a gift shop here in Jeddah and I thought it was cute.  It is a white decorated camel and would make a nice end table if equipped with a piece of glass on top.  I'm not sure if the glass is included or not, but the price on the camel is 1195 SR, which is about $ 320 US.

Bracelets in Mall Shop

Like everywhere in the world, jewelry is very popular with Saudi women.  These bracelets caught my eye recently at a local mall. 

Herb & Spice Shop

Many smaller shops in Jeddah are stocked to capacity with product.  This shop sells dates, herbs, honey, spices and many other items. 

Jars of Nuts in Honey