Madas - Traditional Saudi Men's Sandals

Worn by Saudi men, madas sandals are readily found in shoe shops all over Saudi Arabia.  The styles, colors, and detailing are now endless, quite a change from the past when they mostly came in a choice of brown or black leather. 

Madas are usually made from camel or cow leather and used to be entirely made by hand, which of course makes them quite expensive.  Nowadays more affordable madas are machine made. 

Madas sandals are now also made for women and children as well.  They are available in just about any color and can have different embellishments like beading, contrast stitching, and different leather effects, like ostrich texture.

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...

Skywatch - Blue Glass Reflections

Jeddah's modern architecture seems to have a great preference for blue glass structures.  All of the photos in this post were taken within a 7 minute span along a section of Madina Road.  There were actually even more photos of blue glass buildings that I took within the same 7 minutes, but I didn't post them all.  I would call this a Blue Glass Phenomenon...

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'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. 

Jeddah Mosque and Sky

Another stately mosque topped with a minaret north of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.  

Jeddah Watermelon Season

It's watermelon season again in Saudi Arabia.  More rainfall than usual fell this past winter, so the fresh produce is abundant. These vendors sell their melons from the back of their pickup trucks off the side of the road.  In this area of Saudi Arabia, watermelon is called "Hub-Hub."