Water Well Sculpture

This Jeddah sculpture stands just several feet away from the Rose Water Sprinkler sculpture in Al Balad that I just featured a few days ago.  It is a replica of the ancient public drinking water dispensers that used to be found placed in strategic points around the city to quench the thirst of its citizens.  This sculpture has been changed in the few years since I first published a photo of it.  There used to be several more drinking cups standing at the base of the sculpture. 

Rain: A Rare Sight

It rarely rains in Jeddah, and that is no exaggeration.  I love rain.  It's cleansing and it makes the air smell so fresh and clean.  It doesn't rain enough here in Jeddah.  When it does rain, it is usually big news.  Most schools will close, many businesses may even shut down, and streets can easily flood.  It was a pleasant surprise that it rained recently.  It was even more surprising to see this man walking down the street holding an umbrella.  He must have brought it with him from his native country because I can't recall ever seeing umbrellas for sale here - although they would come in handy as a sun shield ...

Murrush: Rose Water Sprinkler Sculpture

Jeddah is home to hundreds of unique sculptures, many of which I have featured on this blog.  This particular sculpture is of a "Water Blessing Sprinkler" or "Rose Water Sprinkler," an ancient Middle Eastern gadget called "murrush" that was used to sprinkle rose water on the palms of visitors to one's home to greet them.  It was also offered after meals to cleanse or refresh the hands.  In my research for this post, I came across some really beautiful designs and colors of rose water sprinklers. 

Rose water has been associated with the Middle East for centuries.  It is also used in cooking (great in dessert puddings) or you can just add a drop to flavor a pitcher of drinking water (heavenly!).  I wrote a post about a rose water factory in Taif that we visited, if you are interested in the process of how rose water is made. 

Al Balad Storefronts

Early on a Friday morning (the holy day for Muslims), most shops in Jeddah's Al Balad district are closed for business until after the noontime prayer.  I find a certain beauty in the combination of the colors, the signs, the designs on the ironwork doors...

Aging in Al Balad

Many of the older buildings of Jeddah are in disrepair and are neglected by, what I call, the slum lords.  Even so, most of the the dilapidated buildings are still inhabited by poor workers from third world countries.  I do think that the old green and white signs naming the district and the streets are quite beautiful.  They would make beautiful artwork hanging on the walls inside homes. 

Jeddah's Oldest Minaret

Whether or not this is Jeddah's oldest mosque minaret, I am not sure, but I was told that it was on a recent tour I took down in Al Balad, the old historic part of Jeddah.  The minarets are equipped with loudspeakers which carry the melodic voices of the muezzin, who sings the calls to prayer (called adhan) five times every day. 

For those of you who are interested in hearing the call to prayer, below is a beautiful example of a Filipino man singing the call to prayer in the style of Sheikh Mohammed Mulla, the famous muezzin of the Grand Mosque in Makkah. 

 

Happy New Year 2014 - Green Rawasheen

Well, I'm finally back.  Forgive me for my absence but sometimes a little break from blogging is necessary.  I spent a few months in the states and have been back in Jeddah for a couple of months, so I guess it's time to get back into the swing of things. 

This photo was taken in the oldest part of Jeddah called Al Balad.  Many of the old buildings are crumbling or have been destroyed by fire.  The wooden window coverings that appear on many of the older buildings are called "rawasheen" (plural) or "roshan" (singular).  These window coverings provide privacy and ventilation and they are painted a variety of colors, mostly blue or brown.  The rawasheen are a very typical and distinctive feature of the old style buildings, many of which were built using crushed coral, which was available from the Red Sea.