Good Karma on the Red Sea

SCORPION FISH - Photo Credit: MANSOUR FAIRAQ

Since I wrote about my snorkeling adventure out on the Red Sea last month, I have since been out snorkeling two more times.

EXPLORING THE RED SEA - Photo Credit:  TRINA EPSOM

A couple of weeks ago before sunrise my husband and I went out on a boat with our niece’s husband Mohammed and his brother Sultan, so I consider them family, even though in this culture, we are not. The first two spots that we anchored at were fishing spots. We all tried our luck but the fish just didn’t seem to be biting that day.

AMAZING COLORS OF THE RED SEA - Photo Credit: TRINA EPSOM

The third place we went to was a coral reef where I could go snorkeling. The reef was absolutely enormous. While Adnan stayed on the boat hoping to catch some fish, I went into the nice cool turquoise waters to snorkel with Mohammed and Sultan.

CORAL and CLOWNFISH - Photo Credit: TRINA EPSOM

I watched in amazement through my goggles as Sultan swam several meters down to the sea floor and brought up a gigantic sea turtle, just like Crush in Finding Nemo! It was so cool to see him rising to the surface, almost as if in a dance with this splendid creature. Adnan helped him get the sea turtle on to the boat, and then we continued snorkeling. After a while the waves started getting really strong, so I told the guys that I was going to back to the boat, but they still wanted to keep on exploring the sea.

CLOWNFISH SCHOOL IS IN SESSION - Photo Credit: TRINA EPSOM

The shell of the sea turtle had to be about 3 feet long by about 2.5 feet wide. Adnan had set up some big coolers around him to contain him on the boat. I watched the turtle in wonder for a while as Adnan continued in his vain attempt to catch some fish. When I asked what we were going to do with the turtle, Adnan told me that he thought the guys might be planning to kill it for its meat. I was devastated upon hearing this and set about trying to talk Adnan into letting him go.

GIANT SEA TURTLE - Photo Credit:  SUSIE OF ARABIA

Almost two hours had passed and Adnan and I were becoming concerned because we could not see the two brothers snorkeling in the sea. We didn’t have binoculars with us and there was no apparent response at all when we honked the horn of the boat several times. Adnan still hadn’t caught any fish, and I was feeling rather anxious about the possible fate of the huge sea turtle we had board with us. At last Adnan lifted the gentle giant up and tossed him back into the sea. No more than five minutes later, we finally caught a glimpse of the two snorkelers. They had gone around the entire massive reef!

RED SEA SPOTTED STINGRAY - Photo Credit:  MANSOUR FAIRAQ

Feeling much more at ease now that we knew the brothers were all right, Adnan dropped his line back into the sea and within seconds pulled up a nice plump more-than-a-foot-long fish - his first catch of the day! We were astonished when he caught another identical fish as soon as he put his line back into the sea again. All I could say to Adnan was “Good Karma!” The guys were fine when they learned that the turtle was safely back in his watery home, and I got to drive the boat most of the way back to our starting point, which is rather ironic since as a woman I’m not allowed to drive a car here in Saudi Arabia…

CLAM CLOSE-UP - Photo Credit:  TRINA EPSOM

Most of the photos in this post were taken on the third snorkeling trip I went on a week ago. They were taken by two scuba divers in the group – and seeing their beautiful photos has really got me thinking about taking scuba lessons ... hmmmm.

TONS OF FISH!  Photo Credit:  TRINA EPSOM

Click on any photo in this post for an enlarged view.

An Old Church in Jeddah?

I’ve been down in the old part of Jeddah many times, but last week when my husband and I drove down there to go to the fish market, I discovered something new. We were driving along busy Hail Street, passing by a lonely lot, overgrown with weeds and surrounded by office buildings.

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The only structure on the lot was a sad little crumbling building in ruin, amidst the weeds, trash, and broken bottles. Adnan pointed it out to me and said that it was the remains of an old Anglican church. I had read about this church before but had never seen it or noticed it before.

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It stands in the Baghdadiyah District of Jeddah not far from Al-Balad, near Hail and Hamzah Shahatah Streets. Just south of the abandoned unkempt lot where the church is situated is a body of water called Arba’een Lake, where the Jaffali Mosque is located.

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The history of this building is murky, but it is believed to be less than 100 years old, built when Britain supported the Sharif of Mecca in the revolt against the Ottoman Empire in the hopes of achieving Arab independence and creating a Pan-Arab state.  What is clear is that there are many versions as to the history of this building and doubts about whether or not it was ever actually used as a church.

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I’ve read that this church was actually built outside the big walls that encompassed the then small fishing village of Jeddah. The presence of an Anglican church in Saudi Arabia may seem ironic in a land that strictly prohibits the practice of any other religion besides Islam. But there is ample evidence that centuries ago Christians and even Jews used to live peacefully side by side in this country.

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In the 1980s, a 4th Century church was unearthed in the city of Jubail. This other church is believed to be one of the oldest known churches in the entire region. You can see photos of the Jubail Church and read a bit more about it by CLICKING HERE.

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Like many of the old historic buildings in the old part of Jeddah, this old church does not appear to be protected and is certainly not being preserved. I easily walked up to it and could have probably gone inside, but I did not. From archaeological and historical viewpoints, preservation of this site should be made a priority, but that is not likely to happen.

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NOTE: There are questions as to whether or not this building was ever used as a "church."  For more information about the discrepancies, please read the comments below.
Also, please do not use this post to argue about religion or politics. I have posted about this church because I find it interesting and I find a certain beauty in the decaying old buildings of Jeddah.