Culture of Jeddah. Places to visit - old town, temples, theaters, museums and palaces

Jeddah is an incredibly beautiful port city, a popular beach resort and world-renowned center of pilgrimage. Al-Balad district is considered the oldest part of the city. First buildings in its territory began to appear as early as in the 5th century. Today tourists have a unique opportunity to see beautiful buildings and palaces of different epochs. Such a huge number of places of interest is impossible to find in any other city of the country. Among the buildings located in the historic quarter you will find many buildings made of coral blocks that are traditional for Saudi Arabia. These unique buildings are protected by state and are of a great cultural value.

Without a doubt, Nasif and Sharbatly mansions are the most striking architectural monuments of the city. Several centuries ago they belonged to families of noble merchants. These magnificent palaces simply amaze visitors with their unique architectural style and rich decoration of the inner premises. The historic district of Jeddah is surrounded by modern quarters with high-rise office centers and shopping complexes. Such a contrast makes the city even more original.

The modern part of Jeddah is home to numerous interesting attractions such as Municipality Museum. The building which houses the museum was built in the beginning of the 20th century and is also made of coral blocks. Numerous halls of the museum exhibit a rich collection of historical artifacts, important documents and maps. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Abdel Raouf Hasan Khalil Museum is a no less attractive cultural institution. This museum will surely attract fans of art. Its main exhibits are old paintings and tapestries. The age of some of them is up to five hundred years. The museum often hosts exhibitions of contemporary art, during which young artists present their works. Jeddah Museum is a great place to see priceless archaeological finds. The collection of the museum is regularly updated with new artifacts.

An old Christian cemetery is one more important object of excursions. The cemetery was closed in the middle of the previous century. According to one version, "the tomb of Eve" is located here, so each year the city is visited by a huge number of pilgrims who come to the place of burial of the mankind’s foremother. Because of a huge number of interesting monuments Jeddah is often called "the city of statues". There are more than four hundred different monuments in Jeddah. One of the most famous of them is the fountain located opposite to El-Salam Palace. The height of the fountain’s jets is up to 312 meters. This is the highest fountain in the world.