35 Facts About Jeddah

Since those times, Jeddah has served as the gateway for millions of pilgrims who have arrived in Saudi Arabia, traditionally by sea and recently by air.

Jeddah is the principal gateway to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, 65 kilometers to the east, while Medina, the second-holiest city, is 360 kilometers to the north.

Economically, Jeddah is focusing on further developing capital investment in scientific and engineering leadership within Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East.

Jeddah was ranked fourth in the Africa, Middle East, and 'stan countries region in the Innovation Cities Index in 2009.

Jeddah is one of the Saudi Arabia's primary resort cities and was named a Beta world city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network .

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Jeddah wrote the name of the city into his diary as "Jiddah".

Some believe that Jeddah had been inhabited before Alexander the Great, who had a naval expedition to the Red Sea, by fishermen in the Red Sea, who considered it a center from which they sailed out into the sea as well as a place for relaxation and well-being.

Excavations in the old city have been interpreted as that Jeddah was founded as a fishing hamlet by the Yemeni Quda'a tribe, who left central Yemen to settle in Makkah after the collapse of Sad Marib Dam in Yemen in 115 BC.

Jeddah first achieved prominence around AD 647, when the third Muslim Caliph, Uthman Ibn Affan, turned it into a port making it the port of Makkah instead of Al Shoaib port southwest of Mecca.

However, Jeddah remained a key civilian harbor, serving fishermen and pilgrims travelling by sea for the Hajj.

Jeddah has been established as the main city of the historic Hijaz province and a historic port for pilgrims arriving by sea to perform their Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca.

Ayyubid conquests in Hejaz included Jeddah, which joined the Ayyubid Empire in 1177 during the leadership of Sharif Ibn Abul-Hashim Al-Thalab .

Jeddah attracted Muslim sailors and merchants from Sindh, Southeast Asia and East Africa, and other distant regions.

Jeddah was fortified with a wall, using forced labor, as a harbor of refuge from the Portuguese, allowing Arabia and the Red Sea to be protected.

Jeddah became a direct Ottoman Eyalet, while the remaining Hejaz under Sharif Barakat II became a Vassal state to the Ottoman Empire 8 years after the Siege of Jeddah in 1517.

Jeddah deposed Ali bin Hussein, who fled to Baghdad, eventually settling in Amman, Jordan, where his descendants became part of its Hashemite royalty.

Today, Jeddah has lost its historical role in peninsular politics after Jeddah fell within the new province of Makkah, whose provincial capital is the city of Mecca.

Jeddah'storically, politically and culturally, Jeddah was a major city of Hejaz Vilayet, the Kingdom of Hejaz and other regional political entities according to Hijazi history books.

All of the capitals of the Middle East and North Africa are within two hours flying distance of Jeddah, making it the second commercial center of the Middle East after Dubai.

Since the 7th century, Jeddah has hosted millions of Muslim pilgrims from all over the world on their way to Hajj.

Jeddah cuisine is popular as well and dishes like, Foul, Shorabah Hareira, Mugalgal, Madhbi, Madfun, Magloobah, Kibdah, Manzalah, Magliya and Saiyadyia which can be acquired in many traditional restaurants around the city, such as Althamrat, Abo-Zaid, Al-Quarmooshi, Ayaz, and Hejaziyat.

Jeddah has been selected as a place for the annual Red Sea International Film Festival that will be held in 2020.

Jeddah Season is a part of the Saudi government's Saudi Seasons initiatives that aims at launching a high-level tourism activities in Saudi Arabia.

Jeddah is served by four major Arabic-language newspapers, Asharq Al-Awsat, Al Madina, Okaz, and Al Bilad, as well as two major English-language newspapers, the Saudi Gazette and Arab News.

Internet blogs specifically informative of the locality are abundant in Jeddah, catering mostly to the widespread expatriate population.

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Jeddah represents the largest radio and television market in Saudi Arabia.

Jeddah is home to several primary, intermediate and secondary schools such as:.

Jeddah is the home of the 2 biggest well-known football clubs teams Al-Ittihad Club and Al-Ahli Saudi FC.

City is home to the 2015 Saudi Arabian basketball Champion Al-Ittihad Jeddah, which plays its home games in the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Basketball Arena.

The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is a street circuit, winding through the Jeddah Corniche along the Red Sea, north of the main part of the city.

However, the old Jeddah airport experienced heavy congestions, especially during Hajj seasons.

Jeddah Seaport is the 32nd busiest seaport in the world as of 2008.

Jeddah is part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast to the Upper Adriatic region with its rail connections to Central and Eastern Europe.

Highway 40, which begins in Jeddah, connects the city to Mecca, Riyadh and Dammam on the east coast.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses told local newspaper Arab News that East Jeddah was swamped and floodwater was rushing west towards the Red Sea, turning streets into rivers .