Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia: Jeddah and Al-Balad, the Coral Old Town

When

Oct to April

Price

From 2 100€ excl. flights

(based on 2 people sharing)

How long

4 nights

Ideal length

Saudi Arabia: Jeddah and Al-Balad, the Coral Old Town — photo 1

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Saudi Arabia: Jeddah and Al-Balad, the Coral Old Town — photo 7

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Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's main port city on the Red Sea, served for over a millennium as the gateway for pilgrims arriving by boat to Mecca, making it a uniquely cosmopolitan crossroads in the kingdom. Its historic district, Al-Balad, UNESCO-listed in 2014, retains multi-storey houses built from coral quarried from the Red Sea and adorned with finely latticed wooden balconies called roshan.

Al-Balad, the Coral City

Al-Balad, Jeddah's historic heart founded over a thousand years ago, owes its nickname of coral city to houses built from blocks of coral quarried from the Red Sea reefs, a local construction technique adapted to the humid coastal climate. The facades are punctuated by roshan, finely latticed teak wood balconies that traditionally allowed women to observe the street unseen, while also promoting airflow through the upper floors.

The historic gateway for pilgrims

For over a millennium, before the advent of modern aviation, Jeddah was the obligatory landing point for pilgrims arriving by boat from across the Muslim world to reach Mecca, about seventy kilometres away. This status as a cosmopolitan crossroads left a lasting imprint on the district's architecture and population, blending Indian, African, and Southeast Asian influences inherited from generations of pilgrims who sometimes settled there.

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Where to rest your head

A Renovated Coral House in Al-Balad

A traditional coral house renovated at the heart of Al-Balad, original roshan wooden balconies restored, steps from the lively lanes of the historic souk.