Al Balad is known as the Old City of Jeddah. It has a unique atmosphere with pedestrians only streets, and historic architecture. Its main drawcard is the splendid architecture of old multi-story merchant houses, built from local material including coral.
The first structures were built in the 7th century and served as the center of Jeddah for many centuries. In modern times, the area became less popular, and many buildings were neglected. However, Al Balad was granted Unesco World Heritage status in 2014, and has seen a revival in activity since.
Today, many buildings are being renovated and restored, attracting people from all generations and walks of life.
In this video of Living the Jo Life, we visit the old town, Al Balad in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Located next to the Red Sea, Al Balad, a World Heritage Site, used to be the gateway to Makkah for Muslim pilgrims arriving by sea. Al Balad is known for its historic buildings, often built of coral stone with colored wooden bay windows and balconies (rawashin) dating back more than 400 years. Some of the historic buildings are open to the public and have their own names, e.g. Bait Nassif, Bait Matbouli, and Bait Baeshen. In Al Balad, you will also find one of the oldest mosques, Al Shafie Mosque, dating back about 1400 years. Once the sun sets, all the street markets come alive. Here you can buy all sorts of material, gold jewelry, perfumes, dates, meat, fruit and vegetables, and much more. There are also a number of nicely decorated cafes serving cakes, juices, ice cream and of course Arabic coffee and dates. We had a fantastic time exploring Al Balad and we can highly recommend a visit to this exotic and vibrant part of Jeddah.
Thanks for watching.
@WORLDEXPLORER615 #youtubeshorts #shortsvideo #youtube #jeddah #saudiarabia #jeddahvlogs
