Saudi Arabia. Jeddah - city of pilgrims

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

The city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia is the second largest in the kingdom, as well as its commercial and financial center. In addition, Jeddah is the largest city in the province of Mecca.

Saudi Arabia. Jeddah

Photos of the largest city of the Arabian kingdom amaze with the luxury of skyscrapers and the dynamism of life reigning there. And international studies confirm this impression. In the ranking of world global cities, according to the international classification, the city belongs to the gamma group, which puts it on the same level of importance with cities such as Bangkok and Hanoi.

The city intertwines ancient history with dynamic modernity and ambitions for a technological future. The local authorities, who, of course, are closely connected with the royal family, intend to turn Jeddah into the center of a modern high-tech economy.

It is worth noting that the city authorities have reason to look to the future with optimism, because Jeddah is an important economic center of southwest Asia. One after another, the dynasties of the Islamic Caliphs brought more and more prosperity to the city, making it an important center on the way from India to Europe.

History of Jeddah

Saudi Arabia throughout its history has been a rather closed country, zealously guarding shrines important to Muslims, which means that it was not easy for Europeans to communicate with the Arabian rulers.

The first clash between the city authorities and European sailors happened in 1517, when the Portuguese expedition fired on the port fortifications and destroyed several Muslim ships in the Red Sea.

For five long centuries the city was under the rule of the Arab tribes, until at the beginning of the sixteenth century it was captured by the Ottoman troops, who significantly rebuilt and strengthened the city walls. And the whole country was transformed into the Hejaz vilayet.

Jeddah was under Turkish rule until 1916. Taking advantage of the impending defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the war, the local elites proclaimed the independence of the province, which in 1926 was transformed into a new state - Saudi Arabia.

City culture

As in other cities of Arabia, Sharia law operates in Jeddah, which implies criminal liability for violation of the moral and moral norms of Islam.

Despite the fact that the public practice of other religions and the construction of religious buildings other than mosques is not allowed, in private life, foreigners can worship at their own discretion. Since the vast majority of local residents and foreign workers living in Jeddah are Muslims, there are 1,300mosques.

However, the city pays great attention to modern culture in its manifestation as contemporary art. But Islam also influences this sphere of human life, since the ban on depicting people affects the appearance of sculptures. Jeddah in Saudi Arabia is considered the city with the largest number of outdoor sculptures and the largest collection of public art in the country.

History and present

The historic city center of low-rise merchant houses is gradually giving way to high-rise buildings in high-tech style, but still remains an important element of national identity for local residents.

The state program for the construction of modern ethnographic museums in the country also contributes to the growth of national self-consciousness. In the photo of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, you can see the beautiful building of the ethnographic museum, the exposition of which tells about the history of the Nejaz region and the entire Arab people.

National identity is especially important for this region, since it is Jeddah that takes on the entire load associated with receiving millions of pilgrims from all over the world heading to Mecca and Medina.