The Birds and Animals Souk of South Jeddah

In Saudi Arabia, there are many specialized souks (markets) for whatever you may be looking for.  There is a big fresh fish market with daily auctions, textile souks for everything from sheets to carpets and fabrics, and there are souks for housewares, gold and jewelry, spices, computers, crafts, and well, just about everything under the sun!

This past week my husband took me to a souk I hadn't ever been to before in the more than twelve years since I have been here in Jeddah - the Live Birds and Animals Souk.  It's a really large souk, encompassing many square blocks of an area far south in Jeddah. My husband wanted to purchase some birds - he was having a craving.

The bird section was actually a little disappointing and it wasn't as well stocked as the times my husband has been there before.  Perhaps it was due to the virus or the fact that it was a few days before a big holiday here, when the main focus is on lambs and goats.  It was also difficult photographing the birds because many were in cages and I had a hard time focusing. 

The bird section offered all kinds of birds, from chickens and roosters to turkeys and pigeons, and many varieties that I didn't know the names of.  There were also bunny rabbits in this area of the souk as well.  Conveniently located in the same area was a butcher, who cleaned the purchased animals for a very reasonable fee, as well as stations selling charcoal and firewood.  My husband bought two pigeons for 15 SR ($4 US) for both, and the fee to have them cleaned was 2 SR each (50 cents US). 

Thousands and thousands of lambs and goats were in the next section of the souk we visited.  Because of the upcoming holiday, Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, there was an abundance of livestock available, likely imported for this holiday from Europe or Northern Africa.

The Eid al-Adha holiday occurs at the conclusion of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, a huge celebration feast of sharing.  Normally millions of pilgrims travel to Mecca each year for Hajj, however this year due to the virus, only about 1000 pilgrims from within the kingdom were permitted to attend.  All international flights to and from the kingdom have been suspended indefinitelyfor several months now. 

According to Wikipedia, Eid al-Adha "honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of obedience to God's command. But, before Ibrahim could sacrifice his son, God provided a lamb to sacrifice instead. In commemoration of this intervention, an animal, usually a sheep, is sacrificed ritually. One third of its meat is consumed by the family offering the sacrifice, while the rest is distributed to the poor and needy. Sweets and gifts are given, and extended family are typically visited and welcomed."

Some of the animals available at the souk had remnants of their winter coats visible. For the most part, the animals were separated by types.  Many were "branded" with spray painted symbols on their fur. The cost of a sheep is dependent on its size and type, ranging in price from 800 SR to 2000 SR ($213-$533 US), but is slightly higher during the holidays, priced from 1300-2500 SR ($346-$666 US). 

We also saw camels and cows in the third area of the souk that we visited that day, but we didn't get close enough for me to get any good photos of the cows. Going to this souk was actually a special treat, as my husband and I have still been isolating because of the virus. 

If you are interested in visiting this souk, you can find the location on Google Maps by typing in "Jeddah Birds and Poultry Market" or "Jeddah Cattle Market."  The photo below shows the signs at the entry to the Birds and Animals Souk.

Jeddah's Bastah Market

Last night was the opening of the seasonal open air Bastah Market, located in the heart of the business district adjacent to Jeddah's Corniche.  It is near the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and the world's largest flagpole.  

The market set-up reminds me of farmer's markets in the US, but on a much larger scale.  The market is in its third year of operation and is operated through the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce in an effort to highlight and support local start-up businesses.  It is open only on Fridays from 5-11pm, and runs from December 1, 2017, for 12 weeks only, and will end on February 16, 2018.

The booths are organized by rows, with about half of the businesses selling foods, drinks, and desserts.  The rest of the booths offer a wide variety of services, clothing, jewelry, accessories, art, handmade crafts, and many other unique items.

We had a thoroughly enjoyable time walking through the rows amidst the friendly smiling vendors and happy customers.  Frequently we could feel the delightful cool breezes coming off the nearby Red Sea.  Many booths were manned by family members, from grandparents down to children.  The market is very family friendly, with children's activities and a nearby playground for kids across the street. 

Creativity and charm abounds in the various items for sale. Much of the clothing incorporates traditional Saudi designs and fabrics in the abayas, dresses, shirts and scarves.  We were bombarded with free samples to taste from all the food booths, ranging from all kinds of tasty sweets to dried fruits to savory rice and meat dishes.  My advice would be to go there hungry and carry a big empty shopping bag with you!



While there were plenty of people on hand, I didn't feel it was too crowded for the opening night.
But I have a feeling that as word gets out about this weekly event, more and more throngs of visitors will make their way to it.  The upbeat mood made it evident to me that the people of Jeddah are hungry for this type of activity, making a fun night out with family and friends.

I hope you enjoy the rest of these photos from my visit to the Bastah Market...

Scrumptious desserts and sweets

A Saudi mom assisted at her booth by her young son

Food truck with sidewalk seating

Adorable colorful handmade girls' headbands

Three young entrepreneurs offering their own special milkshake creations

Food fit for a king

Talented Saudi women cooking up a storm

A safe family atmosphere, appealing to all ages

This family of magicians provided great entertainment

Adorable homemade baby toys

A very enjoyable activity in Jeddah's cooler winter months

Very cool and unique music boxes were offered at this booth

These smiling young ladies were hocking handmade hair accessories

The food offerings were varied and delicious

Serving the popular date filled cookies called mamool

One colorful booth after another

Boys serving up traditional Saudi hospitality in the form of Arabic coffee called gahwa

That's me speaking with one of the lovely dessert vendors

Bastah Market - Open Fridays only from 5pm until 11pm from December 1, 2017 through February 16, 2018.

Click HERE for a map location of Jeddah's Bastah Market

Flash Mob, Saudi Style

This video was produced by a large supermarket chain in Saudi Arabia called HyperPanda in honor of Saudi National Day which is celebrated on September 23rd.  Enjoy!

Afghani and Turkish Souks of Jeddah

Jeddah afghani souk from Susie Khalil

Jeddah afghani souk from Susie Khalil

Special thanks to Alicia Ali and Nomad Tours for organizing this fantastic outing.   

In Search of ... Turkey!

M y husband took me out in search of a turkey for Thanksgiving since I had been very disappointed that we hadn't had one the year before, shortly after I first arrived in Saudi Arabia.


First we went to an enormous brand new immaculate and stunning super market with the widest aisles I have ever seen. Surely they must have a turkey here. After checking the fresh meat department and the frozen section, my husband decided to ask an employee - who was cleaning the floor of this spic-and-span establishment and who apparently spoke neither Arabic nor English - if he knew where the turkey (in English) or "deek roomy" (turkey in Arabic) might be. The guy happily pointed us over to the Bakery Department (!?!), saying, "Turkey! Turkey!" Miffed, we walked over to the Bakery Department where we were greeted by the Manager of the Bakery, whose name badge introduced him to us as "Mr. Al-Turki."

The second huge super market we tried to find turkey in did actually have turkey, but it was precooked ready to eat deli turkey in those huge rolls that you can have the butcher slice off a kilo or two for you to take home and make sandwiches out of. Well, I'd really rather have a real turkey, but I guess this would do if we couldn't find anything else ...

The third place we went to is also a fancy super store - they call them "hyper markets" here. In the frozen section in the far corner of one of the chests tucked away between some frozen ducks was a single 4.11 kg frozen turkey! Yay! At this store, we also got the fixings for a homemade pumpkin pie and my famous jellied cranberry salad with celery, pineapple and walnuts.

Adam and I were so happy to have the traditional Thanksgiving meal, complete with mashed potatoes and gravy and stuffing. It was quite a mission finding a turkey in a country where many of the natives I have talked to about it claim to not LIKE the taste of turkey. The funny thing is that in the months following, we have seen several stores with an abundant supply of frozen turkeys! Next holiday, we'll get an earlier start ...

Old Jeddah's Bab Makkah Souk

Jeddah, like many cities around the world, has a really interesting mix of ultra-modern and absolutely ancient. Less than a century ago, Jeddah was a completely walled in small city, boarded up at night to keep its residents safe from outsiders. Its location was significant because of its close proximity to the holy city Makkah, the caravan routes, and its position on the Red Sea.



There were four gates - North, East, South and West - where people could enter or leave the city. The walls have long since come down and Jeddah has grown to an important sprawling commercial metropolis. The famous gates have been replicated in various places around town as a nod to the city's history, and one of the gates is located in Old Jeddah, which is also called Al-Balad. To read a bit more about this area and to see more photos, take a look at the last post I did on Old Jeddah and the Al-Balad district.


In the oldest part of the city is, of course, its oldest surviving souk, which is called Bab Makkah. In Arabic, this means "door to Mecca" or "gateway to Mecca." I have been to Bab Makkah several times, mostly in the daytime. My brother-in-law (BIL) loves to point out the old house he and my husband grew up in, the old schools they attended which are in disrepair but still functioning, and the graveyard where their dad is buried - which is inaccessible because it is surrounded by the souks (shops or markets). I try to imagine how it must have been back then when we didn't have all of today's modern conveniences and wonder how I would have managed. But then again, I grew up in an adobe house without air conditioning in the heat of Arizona, so I'm thinking I probably would have survived in this desert too! Somehow we must adapt...


Narrow streets that are barely wide enough for a single car to drive through are lined with colorful shop after colorful shop, offering everything imaginable under the sun. If one wants to go when it is not crowded, the least busy time to go is in the morning during the week during Ramadan, the month out of the year when Muslims do not eat or drink anything at all during the daylight hours. My BIL and my hubby enjoy going down to Bab Makkah during Ramadan to get certain traditional supplies in bulk for various branches of the family, like olive oil, cheeses, and tahini, claiming that the prices are considerably cheaper there. Since it is a long drive down to Bab Makkah - about 45 minutes in good traffic or more than an hour in busy traffic - the rest of the year they usually opt to get these supplies at shops a bit closer to home.


The grocery souks here are so small and crowded that the customers actually have to stand at a counter outside the shop to place their orders and cannot enter the well stocked and crowded shops. Every vendor specializes in only certain products that they sell. One vendor sells only dates, another one sells only nuts or olives, and still others have only meats, or spices or shoes. And the businesses here thrive! There are no taxes and no continual fees for business licenses or occupancy or health inspections to be paid, so small businesses here actually have a much better chance of surviving. And what's more, since the business owners are not nickeled and dimed to death by the government, they don't gouge the customers and the prices they charge are very reasonable and they still manage to make a profit.


Recently we visited Bab Makkah for the first time at night - and not during the weekend - and let me tell you, this place was hopping! Throngs of people bustled about like busy little ants, shopping, working, eating, laughing. Most women were dressed from head to toe in black, although I did see a few African women wearing their colorful native dress. Most of the men were dressed either in the traditional Saudi long white loose-fitting dress, called a thobe, or in the two piece Pakistani traditional dress which consists of very loose long pants topped by a matching big loose shirt that extends down to the knees. The smell of incense permeated the evening air. Bumper to bumper vehicles moving at a snail's pace tried to worm their way through the narrowly tight and overly-crowded streets. It was nearly midnight on a school night and the buzz of activity didn't appear as though it would be letting up any time soon.


Bab Makkah is a place where you negotiate the price with the vendor - you never, ever pay the first price you are quoted. My husband is a natural at haggling over the price with the vendors, but not me. Where I grew up, the prices were marked and that was the price you paid, although right across the border was Mexico, where haggling was commonplace - but unfortunately for me, I still never got the hang of it!


We stopped at a meat vendor's little shop - just to look - and I was astounded by the sight of animals parts I had never even seen offered for sale before - animal parts like hooves, and testicles, and hearts, and kidneys - all sitting out in the warm open air and not refrigerated. We have never purchased any of the meat here, but it is interesting to look at these meats that I haven't had much prior experience with! The presentation is so totally different than the supermarkets back home in America that I am used to. These organ meats are not covered with plastic wrap or kept on ice and just sit in a large plastic bowl out on a table, flies buzzing around freely. My hubby says that when you cook the meats you cook out any bacteria or other germs that might have been present anyway... uh, okay...


On another trip down to Bab Makkah, I was lucky enough to snap a photo of a fellow walking through the marketplace, carrying a huge piece of meat, which he was delivering to one of the meat vendors. He held onto it with his bare hands (no plastic gloves), had it slung over his shoulder and down his back, laying right on his shirt! You just don't see stuff like this where I'm from and I find it fascinating. Hmmm ... I wondered what he smelled liked by the end of his work day ... pity the poor wife who does his laundry!


At one of the spice and incense souks, my BIL purchased two Islamic burial kits - one for a man and the other one for a woman - to donate to a mosque. Each kit consisted of a large box containing everything needed for a proper Islamic burial. Included in the kit were several large pieces of white cloth for shrouding the body, strips of tie cloths, a particular soap for washing the body, a distinct body scrub, some special herbs and spices, disposable gloves, incense, and lots of cotton balls for stuffing into the body's cavities. Islam is very specific about the procedures to follow when someone dies. Muslims are buried as soon as possible and are usually buried in just the shroud - no coffins, and no tombstones.


Also at the spice vendors, huge blocks of various spicy incense are then broken up by hammer into smaller chunks. You can imagine the pleasant scents that emanate from the spice shops! These shops are also loaded with hair products like henna, herbal remedies, and perfumes and oils, stacked from floor to ceiling.


Another vendor's booth has a hanging display of strung dates which look like the old time weiners that used to hang in the butcher shop. Others offer knockoffs of jewelry, perfumes and purses, while down the block you can get all the latest in cell phones or other electronic products. Handmade carts are laden with fresh fruits and vegetables, or socks and underwear, or leather belts.


I enjoy going down to Bab Makkah Souk - it's always an interesting and fascinating time - but I have learned one thing. I'll never go there again during Ramadan in the middle of the day. I almost passed out from a combination of the brutal heat and the fasting! I honestly don't know how the other women there do it - having to wear the black abaya and not being able to at least drink water. Well, come to think of it - I don't know how the men can do it either!

Old Jeddah and the Al-Balad District

The city of Jeddah is the second largest city in Saudi Arabia, exceeded in population only by the capital city of Riyadh. Because Riyadh is inland and Jeddah sits right on the beautiful Red Sea, Jeddah is considered to be the commerce center of the country.

Jeddah, like many cities around the world, has a really interesting mix of ultra-modern and absolutely ancient. An hour's drive from Mecca, Islam's holiest city, Jeddah is also an important gateway for travelers heading to Mecca for the Hajj, the pilgrimage that able-bodied Muslims are required to make at least once during their lives.




Jeddah's beginnings go all the way back to 2500 years ago when it was a sleepy fishing village. Things changed in 647 AD when the ruling caliph realized that because of its close proximity to the sacred Islamic cities of Mecca and Madinah, Jeddah made the perfect port for Muslims making the Hajj.

Less than a century ago, Jeddah was a completely walled in small city and was boarded up at night to keep its residents safe from outsiders. Its location was significant because of its close proximity to the holy city Mecca, the caravan routes, and its position on the Red Sea. There were four gates - north, east, south and west - where people could enter or leave the city. The walls have long since come down and Jeddah has grown to an important sprawling commercial metropolis. The famous gates have been replicated in various places around town as a nod to the city's history, and one of the gates is located in historic Old Jeddah, which is called Al-Balad.




Many of the buildings in Al-Balad, which means "the town," are centuries old and, surprisingly, are built of coral. Some are crumbling in disrepair and could be called ruins. Despite this, most of these buildings are still inhabited or used for business. The architecture is distinctly traditional Middle Eastern style, with the use of horizontal embedded wood beams, those unique wooden window coverings, airy balconies, and carved doors.

 The window coverings are designed for privacy, but also allow for good air circulation. The designs on the window coverings are intricate and beautiful. Since this area of Jeddah was built long before automobiles were invented, many of the streets are so narrow that one car can barely squeak through. Making these streets feel even more claustrophobic is the fact that they are lined with buildings that are three or more stories high.



Interspersed between some of the ancient buildings are new glass and steel structures housing upscale shops offering the latest fashions from Paris or Milan, or large world renowned businesses, side by side with street vendors hawking fresh produce or shoes and the popular open air markets, called souks.

 
Al-Balad has been called a shopper's paradise, where one can find everything from beautiful traditional handmade crafts to the latest in electronics, or from exquisite gold and silver jewelry to popular aromatic oils and spices. Different souks are scattered around in every direction, many within walking distance.



An interesting legend that lends mystery and wonder to this area is the belief that Eve herself is buried in an unusually shaped tomb in the Ummana Hawa Cemetery, in the Al-Balad area of Old Jeddah. When Adam and Eve were exiled from paradise, Eve settled in Jeddah while Adam lived in Mecca and then other parts of the world. Miraculously this grave site has survived all these thousands of years and is a must-see stop for many religious pilgrims. Of course the actual facts are all up for debate since the Bible is the only evidence that Eve ever existed. It would be interesting after all this time to see what actually lies within the tomb.

In spite of its ancient decaying structures, Old Jeddah and Al-Balad continue to prosper, showcasing the diversity, the history, and the spirit that make Jeddah the significant Middle Eastern city that it is today.