DAY 13 - Jeddah City Tour

Today was our last day of touring, it has gone so fast.

The first stop was the fish market, sounded like a strange place but it was interesting (not smelly). There was no cod or haddock, but many strange, colourful, large fish plus octopus, shrimp and calamari. We saw two fish jump out of a tray onto the floor and jump and wriggle - now that is fresh!

Next stop was Old Town (a UNESCO site). Lots of old buildings here, being renovated, it’s an awesome place. It will be a real treasure when they are done. We popped into a shop selling all sorts of sweets and chocolates- sample anything you like for free - buy or don’t buy - my kind of place. 

We just happened to bump into The Culture Minister while there, and our guide Khalid knew him so there were hugs, kisses and an invitation to view the bottom floor of an old house that wasn’t open yet (we are so lucky to have him, he seems to know so many people and makes things happen). We saw the stairs to the second floor, they were very shallow, apparently camels loaded with goods used to go up them and were unloaded upstairs.

After that we went into an old building that housed a coffee shop, for a little break.

We then went to The House of Islamic Arts, housed on an upper floor of a shopping mall. After that it was a group lunch in a Turkish restaurant (our last meal together). We were then dropped off at the hotel for a couple of hours before meeting at 5 pm to go to Al-Taybat International City Museum of Science and Information. It was another private collector’s museum that had 300,000+ pieces, it was truly overwhelming. We spent about 1.5 hours there before returning to the hotel around 8:30 pm. Another long day. We can sleep in tomorrow as the tour is over and everyone is either going home, or moving on to their next destination. We said our goodbyes to our driver, Khalid (local guide for the whole tour) and Rob (our Canadian tour manager).

DAY 12 - Taif to Jeddah

We did our Taif sightseeing this morning. We saw the Shubra Palace (from outside), it was built in 1905 and is being converted into a museum.

We had a lovely walk around the souk, the vendors were very helpful showing us their wares. It is a big area for honey and they gave us samples to try. Also, rose water and rose oil is made here. We also saw frankincense, which looks like a piece of pink rock, they break small pieces off and burn it, it gives a nice aroma (a bit like incense).

We then went to a really good private collector’s museum, everything from coffee pots, daggers, rifles and a few cars.

After Taif we drove on the non-Muslim road to skirt the holy city of Mecca until we reach Jeddah. We stopped and took a very quick photo of the sign.

Jeddah is the principal gateway to Mecca, and is the commercial capital. It has been a port for Muslim pilgrims making the hajj to Mecca since at least 647 AD.

We arrived at our hotel (The Crowne Plaza) about 3:15 and had some free time before we met for dinner at 7 pm. We decided to go for a walk along the Corniche (promenade, Red Sea coast). It seems warmer and for the first time, humid here. We went to a local fish restaurant and stopped at Baskin Robbins for ice cream on the way back.

DAY 11 - Al Ula to Medina to Taif

Our longest travelling day today - I’m told 9-10 hours. 

We left our lovely resort hotel at 7:45, I was still humbled by the spectacular location. Definitely a 5 star rating.

Our first stop was at Elephant Rock, just out of town. It was closed but our driver went in the back way so we could get close enough to see it. He drove the bus off road, carefully, through packed and soft sand, glad he knows what he’s doing.

After about three hours we stopped in the middle of the desert at an old railway station. I suspect it was more for taking on water, not passengers, to keep the steam engines going. There were a few old train engines in very bad shape, left over from the early 1900’s. It was good to stretch our legs.

We drove through the city of Medina about 2pm, we couldn’t stop, as we (non-Muslim) shouldn’t really have been there. We circled through town about four times trying to get as close to the mosque as we could, and we only managed to pull over for a few minutes. Photography was difficult due to fences, cranes, other vehicles, and curtains, heads and arms on the bus 🙁. The mosque was large, with numerous minarets, a green dome and covered areas outside. Dozens of hotels in this area, for the many visitors, four and five deep for blocks and blocks. People come here to visit the mosque and there are staggered times for men and women to visit. Huge amount of construction going on. The city has about 1.5 million population.

We stopped again about 3pm for gas and snack purchases, can’t believe how much some people eat!

Stopped about 5:30 for sunset pictures, desert and mountains again 😀

Two more hours to go. Apparently a roof top restaurant at the hotel for dinner - hope I’m hungry by then.

(Pics 1/2 Shaden Resort hotel, last 2 nights. Pics 3/4 Elephant Rock. Pic 5 railway. Pic 6 Medina, tiny glimpse of mosque at back.)