Saudi Arabia is a land rich in antiquity, culture and legacy. Jeddah, its second largest city has a historical part known as AL-Balad, UNESCO world heritage site which is considered as center of Jeddah. AL-Balad literal meaning is “the Town”. It was founded in 7th century and in 1940, the defensive walls of AL-Balad were demolished. Later in 1970s, oil booms were discovered which enhanced the prosperity of this city. It has a unique pattern of Hijazi houses, embellished with wooden windows and balconies. People of Jeddah have a special accent unlike other Arabians. The way to AL-Balad starts with a street of gold. This street has a lot of gold shops presenting unique styles of gold jewelry combination of ancient Arabian and modern designs. This place resembles to the “gold Souq” a place in Dubai.
The old Jeddah is almost 2000 years old. There’s a road there known as Hajj route, which connects Jeddah to Makah. The pilgrimages, after arrival at Jeddah, walk through this route of AL-Balad and reach at Makah. That’s why the road is called old pilgrimage road. Muslims who go for Umrah and Hajj, at Saudi Arabia walk through AL-Balad. They can easily discover this old historical city while Umrah or Hajj. If you want to visit AL-Balad for a short duration, you can avail Umrah packages for coming year 2025. You can discover this place while doing Umrah and can get spiritual benefits and knowledge of the places at the same time.
Let’s talk about the distinctive features of AL-Balad.
The gold streets
This gold street contains a lot of fancy gold shops depicting Arab’s fantastic taste in jewelry. You will see every possible unique design in gold. Arab people love wearing gold ornaments. Their ancestors were fond of jewelry and handmade ornaments. This gold market is such a vibrant and cultural area.
Spices shops
These spices shops at AL-Balad contain a huge variety of spices and coffee. They are imported from many other countries, rich in spices. These are widely used in Arab’s specific dishes which enhance the taste and make them distinctive.
Al-Baik
The famous restaurant there is AL-Baik. If there’s one restaurant that has taken the middle-east by storm, it would have to be Al-Baik. It is the oldest restaurants in Jeddah. People of Saudi love this restaurant and this is an Arab brand which is leading over other popular food brands like KFC and McDonalds in Saudi Arabia. Fried chicken, nuggets, roasts and fries are served here.
Nassif palace and architecture
It is an old palace located among the historic buildings of AL-Balad. It was constructed in 1885 and named as Nassif palace on the name of its owner Umar Nassif. The old buildings at AL-Balad are made up of unique material “coral stones”. These buildings are so rich in culture and shows great architecture. Hijazi buildings with unique styled wooden windows and balconies make this city more presentable. People don’t live there anymore. This area has become a commercial and tourist’s area.
Ramadan season
Ramadan is celebrated as a festival in AL-Balad. Saudi ministry of culture organizes cultural evenings and programs in Ramadan. Tourists receive a warm welcome and served with a variety of coffees. Ramadan is seemed to be the best time of the year to visit AL-Balad. Muslims from all over the world can book Ramadan Umrah packagesto visit this place in the holy month of Ramadan. Visa is one of the important factor of the Umrah of Hajj deals. If your package doesn’t includes visa, you can book the Hajj Umrah VISA from USA Embassy of Saudi Arabia. Their VISAs will approved by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
Fish market
AL-Balad is famous for huge variety of fish. There’s a biggest central fish market where you can find different kind of fish and seafood, fresh from the Red Sea. Fish as seafood is the most eating meal in AL-Balad. Fish is prepared in many unique ways with specific spices. There are many restaurants serving variety of seafood as grilled, fried, with curry etc.
Open for tourists
Not only for Muslims, has door to all international tourists also opened. So basically this is a new city for tourists all over the world which is undiscovered. Tourists can discover history and rich tapestry of AL-Balad. Booking Hajj Umrah packages with Hajj Umrah VISA from USA will always be the best option to discover this beautiful place along performing Umrah rituals. Getting visa has been easier for international tourists.
Attractions
Besides the historical theme, there’s a lot more to discover at AL-Balad.
- Al-Shallal theme park
- Bayet-e-Naseef museum
- Fakieh aquarium
- King fahad’s fountain
- Jeddah tower
- Tomb of eve
- Al Rahma mosque
- Jeddah water front park
- King saud mosque
- Jeddah light (lighthouse)
Nasseef house
Nasseef house/Nassif house is a museum in AL-Balad. The rooms around the central hall are designed asymmetrically. The entrance to the main hall is separate for men and women. This museum is also known as “the house with a tree” because a tree in this building grew, besides the scarcity of water and probably that was the only house with a tree in that time. This tree stands among the oldest trees in Jeddah.
Jaffali mosque
It was built in 1987, by an Egyptian architect, Abdulwaheed El-wakil. It is the oldest mosque in Jeddah. This mosque comprises of 3000 square meters land and 20 ornate domes. Its architecture was inspired by neighborhoods. The mosque’s layout is rectangular shape with an open courtyard and a series of miniature domes. It has a hypostyle prayer hall. The men’s entrance is from main courtyard to prayer hall while the women’s entrance is from staircase and directed towards the first floor, women’s mezzanine. The prayer areas for men and women are different.
AL-Balad is a small town, in Jeddah You can do shopping while visiting it, as basically it is a market built in historic buildings. There are a lot of shops, of different products like clothing, bed sheets, blankets, jewelry, bags and many other products. The best time to visit this town is Ramadan as it is a festive month there and you can see their cultural activities, programs and other things. If you’re planning to visit Jeddah and AL-Balad in Ramadan next year, don’t forget to book Ramadan Umrah packagesto avail best deals.
