SCENES FROM THE RED SEA

 

SIGNS OF SUMMER

KID'S POOL TOYS HANGING AROUND AT SACO

WATERMELONS & VENDOR IN THE SHADE

WATER SPORTS ITEMS OFFERED AT THE MALL

ENJOYED THIS POST? 

SIGN UP FOR FUTURE POSTS DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR EMAIL BOX.

LINKING TO - TUESDAY'S TREASURES

SOUVENIRS

ALL SEASONS

 

DEALING WITH THE HEAT IN SAUDI ARABIA

 

NEW WATERPARK UNDER CONSTRUCTION NORTH OF JEDDAH

WORKERS GETTING OUT THE HOT SUN UNDER A FLATBED

CAMELS SEEKING REFUGE IN THE SHADE OF A PALM TREE

STREET CLEANER TAKES A BREAK ON THE CURB IN THE SHADE

ENJOYED THIS POST? 

SIGN UP FOR FUTURE POSTS DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR EMAIL BOX.

LINKING TO - MOSAIC MONDAYS

SOUVENIRS

ALL SEASONS

OLD TIME WATER DELIVERY

ARTWORK DEPICTING DONKEYS DELIVERING WATER IN AL BALAD

THEN HOUSEBOYS WOULD TAKE BUCKETS OF WATER TO HOMES

Many thanks to my friend, tour guide Abid Gary Jan, for allowing me to share these photos with you.  Abid shares his love for Jeddah and Saudi Arabia on his Facebook pages - 

Jeddah Awaits You and Saudi Heritage & Tourism

 

Our World - Peaceful and Pensive

I love taking photos here of the Red Sea, with a person gazing out upon the rolling waters of so many shades of turquoise.  It makes me wonder what they are thinking about or if they are just there to appreciate the beauty, the quiet, and the solitude. 

There is a sense of peace and calm and hope in these photos - and I like that feeling. 

Be sure to visit OUR WORLD TUESDAY, where family-friendly bloggers share a unique glimpse into what life is like all around our ever-amazing planet.

Planting Baobab Trees in Jeddah

Lately I have seen several new plantings of baobab trees around the city of Jeddah.  Called the "Tree of Life," the baobab tree is native to the drier regions of Arabia, Africa, Australia, and Madagascar. It is quite an unusual looking tree with an enormous trunk, where it stores lots of water.  Except for a few short months of the year, the baobab tree is leafless and appears as though its roots are sticking up in the air. 

It is known as the Tree of Life for several reasons. It can provide not only water, but food and shelter.  The tree is fire resistant and its cork-like bark can be used for making cloth and rope.  Its leaves are used as an ingredient in soups and there are claims that they have medicinal value.  The baobab fruit is edible and is very high in Vitamin C. Its fruit is called "Monkey Bread" and is described as having a velvety exterior and is about the size of a coconut.

Since it can store hundreds of liters of water, in times of drought the tree can be tapped.  Older trees are often hollowed out to provide homes for animals or humans, and some are even used as shops.  I'm rather excited to see these plantings mature and follow their progress!

SkyWatch - Jeddah Rainy Season

It doesn't rain often here in Jeddah, but when it rains, it pours.  The winter months are when the rainy season is, although the first few years I lived here, it didn't rain at all - ever! Jeddah is not equipped to handle rain - there is no drainage system in place, so the water just sits, sometimes for days.  In past years, people have died when it rained.  Tunnels fill with water and people drive into them in their cars and drown.  Others step into the standing water and get electrocuted by fallen wires.

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.

Red Sea - Fifty Shades of Blue

The Red Sea varies in color from a deep navy blue to a bright blue-green turquoise.  We spent the last day of 2018 out on a boat snorkeling.  It was perfect weather and the temperature of the water was ideal. 

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 Beauty at Night

The seashell shaped building on the left is a restaurant which is part of the Movenpick Al Nawras Resort on its own private island right on the Red Sea.  "Al Nawras" translates in English to seagull. Each villa offers a spectacular seaview plus its own private pool. 

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 Twitter @ayaa1977

Jeddah Sculpture: Science and Religion

This sculpture called "Science and Religion" used to be located in the center of a lagoon near Jeddah's Corniche.  The whole area surrounding the sculpture was transformed about a year ago so now it no longer stands in a body of water. The Jeddah Waterfront project beautified the Red Sea coastline with lovely walkways, plantings, playgrounds, piers, exercise and swimming areas, and much more.

Science and Religion is the work of Spanish architect and sculptor Julio Lafuente. Made entirely of marble, the sculpture consists of 72 spheres that represent the waxing and waning moons and is topped off with a crescent moon.  To see more photos and learn more about this sculpture, CLICK HERE.  

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 Twitter @ayaa1977

Skywatch: Jeddah Coastline

It doesn't rain often in Jeddah, but when it does, it makes a huge difference in the air quality and in the skies, which normally are full of dust and lacking in clouds.  These skies make a beautiful backdrop for Jeddah's waterfront coastline along the Red Sea.

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 Twitter @ayaa1977


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 White Mosque on the Red Sea

Saudi Arabia has tons of mosques all over the country.  There are many beautiful mosques in Jeddah that sit right next to the Red Sea. With the sea breezes, rhythmic waves, and the palm trees swaying, these mosques tend to be very popular at prayer times.   

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 Twitter @ayaa1977

Skywatch: Jeddah Waterfront Sculpture

Timing is everything in photography. Beautiful skies like this one are rare in the city of Jeddah.  Closer to the Red Sea, the skies tend to be more beautiful.  But in the area where I live, frequently the skies are almost beige, full of dust and pollution, and clouds can be very elusive.  But when it rains, which is not often enough here at all, Jeddah's landscape is instantly framed in a whole new light and beauty.  And when the light of day is waning, adding elegant colors into the mix, the results can be magical.  

I am so excited to begin bringing you amazing photos taken by some of my friends here in Saudi Arabia.  My friend Abdullah Yahya took this post's magnificent photo at Jeddah's Waterfront at sunset a few days ago. This area of Jeddah has transformed dramatically over the past few years, with spectacular improvements stretching for miles along the coastline.  To the right in this photo is the Shahadat al-Tawhid sculpture, a creation of Spanish architect Julio Lafuente, who designed many of Jeddah's most popular public works of art.  It is made of granite and says in Arabic, "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his messenger." 

To see how this particular setting has changed from a few years ago, CLICK HERE.  

Many thanks to Abdullah for allowing me to share his beautiful photo with you today.  Stay tuned for more fantastic pics from around Saudi Arabia taken by Abdullah.  Follow him on Twitter @ayaa1977

To see more friendly skies around the world, fly on over to SKYWATCH, where you'll find beautiful skies posted by bloggers from all over the world.   
 

Another Cute Waterfront Playground

Jeddah's new waterfront park area along the Corniche has several really cool playgrounds for kids.  They look so fun they kinda make me wish I were a kid again.  I love these butterfly sun shades in this area.  

SkyWatch: Jeddah Sheraton Hotel Fountain

These two shots were taken facing different directions - the photo above facing away from the Sheraton Hotel in Jeddah, and the photo below facing toward the hotel.

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 Waterfront Playground

There are many themed playgrounds scattered about Jeddah's new waterfront park area along the Corniche.  The whole area is very family friendly and designed for plenty of outdoor fun.  

Jeddah Waterfront Horse Fountain

Jeddah's Corniche has been transformed into a peaceful area where families can relax, stroll, and enjoy themselves in the beautiful surroundings.  This fountain features two stylized horses by Rabia Al Akhras, a Syrian sculptor.  Akhras has spent most of his life in Jeddah and presented these horse sculptures as a gift to the City of Jeddah.

To see closeup shots of these lovely horse sculptures, see THIS POST I made recently.

Jeddah Desalination Stacks

I grew up in a copper mining town in Arizona, and this reminds me very much of the smokestacks that dominated my small hometown.  There were days when the taste of sulphur permeated the air so badly that I hated to swallow.  The air quality of Jeddah is usually always bad, due to a combination of these smokestacks, construction dust, and the lack of rain that would normally be cleansing.  Compounding the normal pollution problems are the seasonal sandstorms which send scores of people with breathing difficulties to the hospital.  The atmosphere in our area of town almost always looks like a brown haze instead of blue skies.  

Jeddah Sculpture "The Seagull"

Mustafa Senbel is the Egyptian artist credited for creating "The Seagull," one of the world's largest sculptures.  He was an urban planner for the city of Jeddah in the late 1970s and early 1980s at the height of Jeddah's Beautiful Project. During this time period Senbel designed more than 25 sculptures for the city, making him one of the most prolific producers of public art in Jeddah.  

With the implementation of Jeddah's new waterfront project, the location of this huge monument is still in the same place, but its surroundings are totally different now.  It is no longer in the center of what used to be one of Jeddah's biggest traffic circles.  Now it is next to an attractive lush boulevard and its enormous size is accentuated by how it now dwarfs the nearby palm trees.

The Seagull soars an incredible 55 meters into the sky and took three years to complete.  It represents a seagull diving into the water.  This work of art appears different from every angle and features poetry on the back side of four popular Saudi poets. It is constructed of marble and concrete.   To learn more about this sculpture, see this previous post I wrote a few years ago which shows it from the other direction and in its previous setting.

To see more of the beautiful art that sculptor Mustafa Senbel made for the city of Jeddah, here are more of my posts featuring his work:  The Seagull; The Fisherman’s Net; The Wave; and Dialogue.

Our World: Jeddah Waterfront Park Giant Chess Set

Jeddah's new and improved waterfront sports a variety of welcome additions, including this giant sized chess set in a park setting.  It is located near the long walking bridge that takes strollers over the busy Corniche Road along the Red Sea coast.  I am delighted seeing families enjoying the attractive outdoor recreation areas and the cooler weather and sea breezes of the winter months.

Be sure to visit OUR WORLD TUESDAY, where family-friendly bloggers share a unique glimpse into what life is like all around our ever-amazing planet.