March 1, Day 5, Jeddah

 We are still here.

We woke up this morning, had a great run through the orange tree grove in bloom across from our hotel, and then had a lovely breakfast — Moroccan eggs and labneh. We will try this particular rendition at home: with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, all kinds of seeds, and obviously the key ingredients — eggs, labneh, and chili oil.

Then we started on our almost 8-hour trek to Jeddah. It was a very pleasant drive, most of the time through the mountains. Different kinds of mountains: volcanic ones, tall ones, tall black ones with sandy dunes washing up to the base like yellow rivers. We saw many herds of camels, the same way one would see herds of sheep in Ireland or cows in Latvia. There were more camels than people or cars around, and with the internet out most of the time, it was quiet and peaceful.

We dropped off the car at Jeddah airport after several rounds around the airport because there were very few signs in English. Even more pilgrims! And we saw many women too, wearing large white cloths over their heads. We read that this is common pilgrimage attire, rather than all-black. We also saw some women in black, their faces fully covered by veils, maybe pilgrims as well. We took an Uber to our hotel near Al Balad, the old market, dropped off our stuff, and headed back out to Al Balad.

We were looking forward to the real bazaar — having heard a lot about the winding narrow streets and the fascinating feature of Jeddah’s Islamic old town: buildings with wooden lattice windows and balconies, designed to protect privacy and modesty. The first few buildings looked like they were about to collapse — surrounded by construction fencing with cheerful messaging from the Ministry of Culture. This was even more far gone than old Tbilisi used to be. Fortunately, we soon came upon many fully restored buildings, truly beautiful and unique.

We noticed a bunch of curious stares — I think we were the only Westerners around. We also noticed women sitting in coffee shops but not eating or drinking, it was still around 4pm. I assume they were occupying seats in preparation for breaking the fast in about 2.5 hours. 

We were starting to feel a little hungry ourselves, and with the fast not yet over, decided to head out to the Samla Commercial Center, which was supposed to have some art. The city is incredibly spread out. Our hotel looks next to Al Balad, but it’s a 35-minute walk. We got to Samla after about a 30-minute drive.

It’s a building that houses galleries by different artists, and in the central alcove, there were easels with paints — basically set up for students. There was no one there. We walked out and grabbed a cab to Jeddah Waterfront Park — another 30 minutes in an Uber. 

Incidentally, while we were waiting, little boys came up to us offering water bottles and dates. We politely declined. When our Uber arrived, the driver opened the window, and the boy tossed the water and dates inside for free, helping him break the fast.

About 3.7 million people live here. The subway project is scheduled to go out for bids in March, so I guess they know and are ready.

At the waterfront, which is about 30 km long (choosing the right spot to land was a gamble), we immediately ran to take pictures of the Red Sea. Our first Red Sea :). Then we started looking for food. All around us were families praying, picnicking on the ground, chatting. Everyone had brought their own food, and the waterfront was full. We walked and walked, looking for restaurants, but were not successful.

We then started looking for an Uber back, a slim chance, with everyone breaking their fast with their families. Finally, after another 30 minutes or so of walking, we managed to grab one and headed back to Al Balad.

By then, it had completely transformed. Crowds and crowds of people, everything seemed open. There was an outdoor food market. We tried a roll with chopped liver, a pie with chopped liver, a chickpea dish, and a bunch of different homemade drinks. Sated at last, we walked around the festive old market, which now looked like an old market should: stores, spices, arts and crafts. We were still the only Westerners. In the context of everything going on, it felt a little strange to me, but everyone was very nice.

We noticed that fewer men wear a gutra and an agal - the cloth with the cord on their head. Instead, many wear white crochet hats. We get confused when we see mixed crowds of girls and women, some with their faces covered and others not, and wearing a good amount of makeup too. Also, some PDAs (a.k.a. holding hands) were observed as well. Seems like a little more casual vibe here than in Riyadh. 

There was a ton of coordination staff routing people around in the old town, almost an IKEA-style flow, making sure no street worth seeing was missed, and likely keeping people away from areas that weren’t festive-looking.

We stopped for coffee and a chocolate chip cookie. The place didn’t have any local coffees, the guy at the register said the most popular drink was an iced matcha latte. Lots of cats in town. Also, no one wants to take cash; everyone takes Apple Pay. I guess we are going shopping in the duty-free tomorrow.

As we were leaving around 10:30pm, people were still arriving, and some stores were still opening. We are totally off on the nocturnal vibe. 

Finishing this up at the hotel. We have a flight out tomorrow afternoon. We’re monitoring the situation on Al Jazeera. Here, it does not feel like anything is happening.

To be continued.