Jeddah // Residents of Jeddah are slowly returning to its historic centre, where a Ramadan cultural festival and UN heritage status are giving new life to the old quarter.
Last year the United Nations added Jeddah to its Unesco global heritage list, acknowledging its distinctive architecture, which evolved from the city’s centuries-old role as a global trading hub and the gateway for pilgrims visiting Islam’s holiest sites.
The cultural festival that began on June 18, the first day the holy month of Ramadan, coincides with a broader tourism drive in Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom is targeting its own citizens as well as the millions of Muslims from around the world who undertake religious visits.
“We wanted to bring life back to this area after its people had abandoned it, and we achieved that,” Jeddah’s deputy governor Mohammed Al Wafi said among the festival crowds.
He said a number of homes in the old quarter had already been renovated, but much work still needs to be done in the historic heart of the kingdom’s second-largest city.
Among old Jeddah’s most famous attractions is the Sharbatly House, made of coral, where legendary British First World War intelligence officer TE Lawrence stayed in 1917.
Like other buildings in the district, which also includes centuries-old mosques, it fell into disrepair before the quarter’s Unesco listing began to spark a revival.
Sami Nawar, head of the historic area known to residents as Al Balad, said several prominent families are among those who have reconstructed homes at their own expense, and more than 700 restoration licences have been granted over the last five years.
Tourism and finance ministry officials are looking at how to help other owners fund their renovations, possibly through loans, Mr Nawar said.
In its decision last year, Unesco noted the importance of the “reduction of the rate of decay of the historic houses, which are often abandoned and squatted [in] by poor immigrants”.
While warning “negative development” could jeopardise the area’s character, it foresaw “a new virtuous circle” thanks to renovation projects and involvement of homeowners and merchants, like Maha Baeshn.
Baeshn, an artist and poet, said the Ramadan festival encouraged her and other homeowners to take better care of their properties.
“The Jeddah festival brought life to the houses and the area,” she said.
The homes, some of them rising multiple storeys, are built of rock and wood, with decorated facades and large bay windows known as rawashin to help air circulate. This has the added benefit of creating cooling shadows for people outside.
Unesco said the design and function of the homes reflected their adaptation to the humid local climate and to Jeddah’s prominence as a trading and religious centre.
They also include ground floor offices and commercial outlets, and rooms rented for pilgrims.
Only “scant vestiges” of this Red Sea architectural tradition survive outside of Saudi Arabia, Unesco said.
Along alleys between the houses, the Ramadan festival features about 80 shops and stalls and a dozen restaurants — all usually staffed by locals — representing traditional trades and delicacies from the coastal Hejaz region around Jeddah.
“We have been running this business as a family for almost 150 years, and this is considered one of the oldest professions in the kingdom,” Samir Jastania said at his popular shop selling Hejazi sweets.
Another vendor offers appetisers, pickles and traditional spices that reflect the cosmopolitan history of Jeddah, a city considered relatively liberal in Saudi Arabia.
“What makes me happy is that the people of the area run it all. It’s amazing,” said festival visitor Ali Jazar, 39, sipping a popular Ramadan apricot drink known as gamardeen.
Although this year’s Ramadan cultural festival in old Jeddah is not the first, the event has taken on added significance since the Unesco designation.
Mr Al Wafi said that in its first seven days almost 130,000 people flocked to the festival’s open-air markets, games, traditional rituals, foods and literary discussions.
One visitor, Osman Al Rosaini, 45, said it is a chance to “teach my children about their roots”.
Mansour Al Zamil, who owns a gift and memorabilia shop, says Ramadan is just the start of his commitment to Jeddah’s old quarter.
“Opening this shop has been my dream since I was a child. I opened it in the historical city and it will be here after the festival is over.”
*Agence France-Presse
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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MATCH INFO
Liverpool 0
Stoke City 0
Man of the Match: Erik Pieters (Stoke)
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The five pillars of Islam
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
FA Cup semi-finals
Saturday: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.15pm (UAE)
Sunday: Chelsea v Southampton, 6pm (UAE)
Matches on Bein Sports
Schedule for Asia Cup
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.